UNIVERSTYOFCALIFORNA 


31822027116045 


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vXJ  A  \A  A  • 


H1EVEMENTS. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


UN  VERS  TY  0     CAL  FORNIA   SAN  DIEGO 


3  182202711  6045 


J AMIES   A.    G-ARFIIELD. 


THE 


REPUBLICAN   MANUAL, 


,  frratijte, 


REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 


WITH  BIOGBAPHJCAL   SKETCHES   Of 


JAMES  A.  GAKFIELD 


CHESTER    A.    ARTHUR 


BY  E.  V.  SMALLEY. 


NEW    Y  OBK  : 

AMERICAN    BOOK    EXCHANGE, 

TRIBUNE  BUILDING, 

1  880. 


COPTRI6HT,    1880 

BOOK   EXCHANGE, 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS: 


ran 

INTRODUCTION,    .........  3 

HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY,        ....  5 

REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL  PLATFORMS,       ...  91 

EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS,      ......  119 

REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES, -  137 

REDUCTION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  DEBT  AND  INTEREST,      -       -  150 

LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  QARFIELD,           .....  153 

GENERAL  GARFIELD  AS  A  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR,  -       -  257 

GENERAL  GARPIELD'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE,     -       -  29?. 

LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,             ...               -  299 

GEKEBAL  ABTHUR'S  LETTEB  OF  ACCEPTANCE,       -       .  329 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  describe  very  briefly  the 
origin,  rise,  and  growth  of  the  Republican  Party,  its  great 
achievements  in  moulding  public  oj)inion,  and  its  important  work 
of  administration  and  legislation.  Since  the  party  was  formed,  a 
new  generation  of  voters  has  come  upon  the  stage  of  political  ac- 
tion, to  whom  its  early  history  is  little  more  than  a  tradition. 
A  brief  resum6  of  that  history  must  be  interesting  and  instructive 
to  these  young  Republicans  who  have  taken  up  its  work  and 
are  to  carry  it  on  after  all  its  founders  have  passed  away,  and 
the  older  members  of  the  party  can  hardly  fail  to  find  some 
pleasure  and  profit  in  reviewing  the  story  of  its  organization 
and  victories.  No  party  ever  had  such  a  record.  It  has  freed 
four  millions  of  slaves  ;.it  has  suppressed  the  most  formidable 
rebellion  the  world  ever  saw  ;  it  has  preserved  and  strength- 
ened the  credit  of  the  nation  ;  it  has  conferred  equal  rights  of 
suffrage  and  citizenship  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  Repub- 
lic, and  it  has  administered  the  Government  for  twenty  years 
with  signal  fidelity,  honor,  and  intelligence.  Within  the  com- 
pass of 'a  work  so  limited  as  this,  it  is  not  possible  to  go  into 
many  interesting  details  concerning  the  career  of  this  great  his- 
toric party.  Very  little  can  be  said  about  its  action  in  State 
campaigns  and  its  position  upon  State  issues.  Its  history  as  a 
national  organization  alone  is  dealt  with  in  the  following  pages, 
and  that,  too,  in  as  condensed  a  form  as  is  consistent  with  the 
presentation  of  all  important  facts. 


A   BRIEF  HISTORY 


REPUBLICAN    PARTY, 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY   PARTIES   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ALL  political  parties  that  have  exerted  marked  influence  upon 
their  times,  have  had  their  beginnings  far  back  of  the  period  of 
their  organization.  Parties  are  somewhat  like  generations  of 
men.  The  characteristics  of  any  single  generation  cannot  prop- 
erly be  studied  without  some  knowledge  of  those  that  have 
gone  before.  It  occasionally  happens  that  a  party  comes  up 
suddenly  on  some  transient  wave  of  popular  excitement, 
growing  out  of  events  essentially  temporary  in  their  nature,  or 
springs  from  some  fictitious  issue,  magnified  into  importance1 
for  the  time  being  by  the  lack  of  any  real  fundamental  ques- 
tion affecting  the  Government  and  the  interests  of  the  people. 
The  roots  of  such  parties  are  never  worth  seeking,  because  the 
plant  itself  bears  no  seed  and  soon  withers  and  disappears. 

The  Republican  Party  was  the  child  of  the  conscience  of  the 
North,  aroused,  at  length,  to  assertion  by  the  growth  of  the 
institution  of  slavery.  In  its  embryonic  forms,  it  existed  al- 
most from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Government.  It  did  not 


6  HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

gain  strength  and  individuality,  however,  until  more  than  half 
a  century  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  A 
brief  examination  of  the  history  of  the  parties  preceding  it  is 
essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  changes  in  public  sentiment 
which  at  last  developed  this  most  important,  most  powerful, 
and  most  moral  of  all  the  political  organizations  that  have  thus 
far  arisen  in  the  United  States. 

During  the  Revolution  there  were  but  two  parties  in  the 
country  ;  the  Patriot  Party,  supporting  the  effort  for  separate 
national  life  ;  and  the  Tory  Party,  which  opposed  the  severing 
of  the  Colonies  from  the  mother  country.  After  the  recogni- 
tion of  American  Independence  parties  soon  divided  on  the 
question  of  forming  a  closer  union  between  the  States.  One, 
known  as  the  Federalist  Party,  favored  the  adoption  of  a  Con- 
stitution creating  a  strong,  enduring  National  Government,  and 
the  other,  called  the  Anti-Federalist  Party,  desired  to  uphold 
the  rights  of  the  States  as  separate  and  sovereign,  and  to  con- 
tinue the  mere  league  between  them  formed  by  the  Articles  of 
Confederation.  The  feebleness  of  the  old  system  became  more 
and  more  apparent,  and  a  convention,  called  in  1787,  for  the 
purpose  of  amending  and  strengthening  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, adopted  a  Constitution,  after  a  four  months'  session, 
and  thus  created  a  new  government,  with  independent  and  sov- 
ereign powers  within  its  own  prescribed  functions.  The  new 
government  had  no  model  in  history.  The  Swiss  Republic  was, 
at  that  time,  a  league  of  cantons,  closely  resembling  our  own 
form  of  government  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution. 
No  model  was  found  in  antiquity  for  the  experiment.  It  was, 
therefore,  only  natural  that  the  scheme  of  resting  a  central  au- 
thority upon  thirteen  independent  State  Governments  should 
awaken  scepticism  and  resistance.  The  Anti-Federalist  Party 
opposed  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution,  and  were,  successful 
in  several  States  in  delaying,  for  a  time,  their  assent  to  it.  The 
position  of  the  Anti-Federalists  was  that  a  single  executive  head 


HISTORY  Qj'  TH V     2j-'j3L!UA%  }'ABTY.  7 

•vas  dangerous.  They  I'c-^ied  above  all  things,  that  the  country 
would  lapse  back  into  a  monarchical  condition  and  lose  its  lib- 
3.  TJie  value  and  necessity  of  a  National  Government  was, 
••ver,  so  clear,  that  the  Federalists  were  in  a  large  majority 
in  the  country  and  held  the  administration  for  twelve  years, 
lu  IT88  they  elected  George  "Washington,  President,  and  John 
Adams,  Vice-President.  At  that  time  the  Constitution  re- 
quired the  electors  to  vote  for  two  candidates  for  President. 
The  one  having  the  highest  number  of  votes  became  President, 
nnd  the  one  next  highest,  became  Vice-President.  This  system 
Qntinued  until  1804,  when  the  present  plan  was  adopted. 
';ig  Washington's  first  administration,  a  fresh  cause  for  di- 
vision of  parties  was  found  in  the  French  question.  The  Anti- 
Federalists,  led  by  Jefferson,  were  warm  sympathizers  with 
France,  and  desired  that  the  new  American  Republic  should, 
in  some  form,  give  assistance  to  its  recent  ally.  The  Federal- 
ists favored  a  strict  neutrality  between  Republican  France  and 
her  enemies.  Party  feeling  ran  high  at  the -second  Presidential 
election  in  1792,  but  Washington  again  received  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Electoral  College.  Adams  was  again  chosen  Vice- 
President,  receiving  77  votes,  against  55,  of  which  50  were  cast 
for  George  Clinton,  the  candidate  of  the  Anti -Federalists. 

About  this  time  the  Anti-Federalists  began  to  drop  their  party 
nome  and  to  take  the  name  of  Democrats.  Thomas  Jefferson, 
heir  great  leader,  objected,  however,  to  the  use  of  the  word 
Democrat  and  sought  to  secure  the  adoption  of  the  name 
!!" publican.  Backed  by  his  influence,  this  name  struggled  for  a 
time  for  recognition  and  was  used  to  some  extent  in  a  few 
States,  but  was  not  generally  adopted.  Most  of  the  old  Anti- 
Federalists  preferred  the  term  Democrat  as  implying  more  fully 
hostility  to  the  assumption  of  governmental  powers  threatening 
the  individual  rights  of  citizens.  In  1796  the  Federalists 
elected  John  Adams,  President.  He  received  71  electoral  votes 
and  Jefferson,  his  opponent.  receiving  68,  became  Vioe-Presi- 


8  HISTORY  OF  TlIE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

dent.  Troubles  with  France  arose  and  nearly  resulted  in  war. 
During  these  troubles  Congress  passed  two  acts,  known  as  the 
Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  ;  one  empowering  the  President  to 
order  aliens  who  were  conspiring  against  the  peace  of  the 
United  States  to  quit  the  country,  and  the  other  providing  for 
the  punishment  of  seditious  libels  upon  the  Government.  These 
laws  created  much  party  feeling  and  were  denounced  by  the 
Democrats  as  tyrannical  and  unconstitutional.  They  contrib- 
uted very  largely  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Federal  Party  at  the 
Presidential  election  of  1800,  when  Mr.  Adams  was  a  candidate 
for  re-election.  The  Democrats  voted  for  Jefferson  and  Burr, 
and  gave  them  73  votes  each  in  the  Electoral  College,  while 
Adams  received  65,  Pinokney  64,  and  John  Jay  1.  The 
election  was  thrown  into  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a  tie 
between  Jefferson  and  Burr.  Jefferson  was  chosen  President 
and  Burr  Vice-President.  When  Jefferson  entered  the  Execu- 
tive office,  his  old  views  about  diminishing  the  powers  of  the 
General  Government  were  considerably  modified.  He  gave  the 
country  a  vigorous  and  successful  administration  and  was  ro- 
elected  in  1804,  by  162  electoral  votes.  The  Federalists  voted 
for  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina,  and  Rufus  King  of  New  York, 
And  were  able  to  control  only  16  electoral  votes.  Jefferson 
declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  term,  and  the  Democrat 
selected  as  their  nominee  his  friend,  James  Madison,  whose 
home  near  Charlottesville,  Va.,  was  almost  in  sight  from  Jeffer- 
son's house  at  Monticello.  During  the  last'year  of  Jefferson's 
administration,  the  Federalists  gained  considerable  fresh  vitality 
through  the  popular  opposition  to  what  was  known  as  the  Em 
bargo,  an  act  of  Congress  prohibiting  American  vessels  from 
trading  with  foreign  ports.  It  was  adopted  out  of  revenge  for 
the  insolent  actions  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  which  arbi- 
trarily searched  American  ships  on  the  high  seas  and  often  seized 
them  and  confiscated  their  cargoes.  The  embargo  was  fatal 
•'or  a  time  to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  United  States, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  9 

and  was  repealed  in  1809.  At  the  election  of  1808,  the  name 
Democrat  was  almost  universally  adopted  by  the  party  support- 
in"  Madison.  Madison  received  122  votes  and  George  Clinton 
113,  while  the  Federal  candidates,  C.  C.  Pinckney,  and  Rufus 
King,  received  47  each.  The  war  of  1812  which  practically 
began  in  1811,  by  British  emissaries  inciting  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  Northwest  to  hostile  acts,  nearly  obliterated  party 
lines  for  a  time.  Both  of  the  parties  supported  the  war  when 
it  was  fairly  begun.  The  Federalists  continued  their  organiza- 
tion, however,  and  at  the  election  of  1812,  gave  89  votes  for 
De  Witt  Clinton,  against  128  for  Madison.  The  Democrats 
nominated  for  President,  James  Monroe,  Mr.  Madison's  Secre- 
tary of  State,  Madison  himself  declining  a  third  term.  It  is 
difficult  at  this  distance  to  understand  what  were  the  issues  of 
the  contest,  but  it  is  plain  that  the  old  political  parties  had 
nearly  exhausted  their  motives  of  controversy  and  that  the  issues 
were  rather  the  traditions  of  old  struggles  than  anything  fresh 
and  vital.  Monroe  received  183  votes,  against  24  given  to 
Rufus  King  by  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and 
Delaware.  Now  began  what  is  known  in  our  political  history 
as  the  era  of  good  feeling.  No  one  was  disposed  to  longer 
question  the  utility  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  no  one  was  disposed  to  assert  for  it  any  dangerous 
or  monarchical  powers.  Both  the  Democrats  and  the  Federal- 
ists supported  Monroe,  and  he  was  re-elected  in  1820,  by  all  of 
the  electoral  votes  save  one. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   BEGINNING    OF    THE    ANTI-SLAVERY   MOVEMENT. 

Up  to  1820,  the  existence  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  had 
been  regarded  as  a  misfortune  by  the  people  of  all  sections  of 
the  country.  Indeed,  amoug  the  causes  of  grievances  brought 


10         HISTORY  OP  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

against  Great  Britain,  was  her  action  in  forcing  the  slave  trade 
upon  the  colonies  against  their  will.  With  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion, the  early  statesmen  of  the  Republic  regarded  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  as  an  evil  which  would  gradually  be  got  rid  of 
by  wise  emancipation  measures.  Looking  to  that  end,  the  slave 
trade  was  prohibited  and  ranked  with  piracy,  as  a  crime,  as 
early  as  1808.  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  head  of  the  Democratic 
party,  was  one  of  the  most  enlightened  opponents  of  slave- 
ry, and  was  far  from  foreseeing  that  the  party  which  he  had 
founded  would  in  after-years,  become  its  chief  defender.  The 
rirst  anti-slavery  society  in  the  country  was  formed  by  the 
Quakers  of  Pennsylvania,  but  there  were,  at  an  early  period, 
organizations  of  emancipationists  in  the  South  who  kept  up 
some  agitation  in  behalf  of  measures  for  getting  rid  of  the  insti- 
tution by  the  action  of  the  State  .Governments.  One  after  an- 
other of  the  Northern  States  where  slavery  existed  provided  for 
its  gradual  abolition,  and  the  sentiment  in  the  North  was  so 
nearly  unanimous  in  opposition  to  fastening  slavery  permanent- 
ly upon  the  country  that  it  insisted  that  for  every  new  Southern 
State  which  came  in,  a  Northern  free  State  should  be  admitted. 
Thus,  Vermont,  Ohio,  and  Indiana  compensated  for  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  Louisiana  ;  and  later,  Maine  counterbalanced 
Alabama.  Thus  far,  the  number  of  free  and  slave  States  was 
equal.  Then  the  question  arose  in  1820  about  admitting  Mis- 
souri with  a  slave  Constitution.  It  gave  rise  to  a  vehement 
public  discussion  which  was  rather  sectional  than  political.  The 
people  of  the  Northern  States  insisted  that  a  clause,  prohibiting 
slavery,  should  be  inserted  in  the  Missouri  Constitution  as  a 
condition  of  the  admission  of  the  State.  The  struggle  went  on 
in  Congress  for  over  two  years.  While  it  aroused  the  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  of  the  North,  which  had  been  almost  dormant, 
it  had  the  effect  of  inciting  the  South  to  a  united  and  earnest 
defence  of  an  institution  which  had  before  been  regretted,  even 
in  that  section,  as  undesirHbk-  -,\\\<\  temporary  in  its  nature 


HISTOE  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PARTY.          11 

A  compromise  settled  the  struggle  for  the  time  being,  in  which 
the  South  gained  a  victory.  Missouri  was  admitted  with 
slavery,  but  an  act  was  passed  prohibiting  slavery  in  all  the  new 
territory  lying  north  of  latitude  36  degrees  and  30  minutes, 
known  as  "  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line."  This  settlement  became 
known  as  the  "Missouri  Compromise.'"'  The  North  gained 
nothing  that  did  not  belong  to  it  before  and  the  South  secured 
the  admission  of  a  new  slave  State,  north  of  the  old  line  sepa- 
rating freedom  from  slavery.  The  "  Missouri  Compromise" 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  future  Republican  Party,  by  creating 
in  the  mind  of  the  North,  a  distrust  of  the  South  and  by 
developing  a  political  force  in  the  country  which  received  the 
significant  designation  of  the  Slave  Power.  This  force,  in  the 
c-ourse  of  time,  suppressed  all  opposition  to  slavery  in  the  South 
and  asserted  the  right  to  convert  the  whole  unoccupied  territory 
of  the  United  States  into  slave  States,  and  to  carry  its  human 
chattels  into  the  Northern  States  under  the  protection  of  the 
Federal  Government,  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  those  States. 
Resistance  to  the  slave  power  and  its  demands  formulated  itself 
in  the  course  of  time  into  the  Republican  Party. 


CHAPTER   HI. 

THE    WHIG    AND    DEMOCRATIC    PARTIES. 

MOXROE'S  administration  is  chiefly  famous  in  history  for  it,- 
recognition  of  the  Spanish-American  Republics  and  its  declarn 
tion  of  what  is  known  as  the  "  Monroe  Doctrine,"  an  assertir: 
that  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  European  Governments  to  e- 
tend  their  system  to  any  portion  of  the  American  Continon 
would  be  considered  to  be  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  safety  r  . 
the  United  States.     The  destruction  of  party  lines  under  Mo;; 
roe's  administration  wont  so  far    that  in  the  election  of 


12          HISTOR Y  OF  THE  REP UBLICA N  PA RTY. 

no  reorganization  on  the  basis  of  old  ideas  was  practicable. 
There  were  four  candidates  for  the  Presidency.  Andrew  Jack- 
son received  99  votes,  John  Quincy  Adams  84,  William  H.  Craw- 
ford 41,  and  Henry  Clay  37.  The  election  was  thrown  into  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent. The  administration  of  the  new  President,  who  was  a  son 
of  the  great  Federalist,  John  Adams,  might  have  been  expected 
<o  restore  the  Federal  Party,  but  that  party  had  outlived  its 
usefulness.  It  -had  witnessed  a  complete  success  of  its  ideas 
respecting  the  National  Government  and  there  was  no  occasion 
for  its  revival.  The  supporters  of  Mr.  Adams  called  themselves 
National  Republicans,  but  the  name  did  not  long  survive.  Mr. 
Adams's  policy  did  not  differ  much  from  that  of  Mr.  Monroe. 
The  distinguishing  event  of  his  administiation  was  the  adoption 
of  the  protective  tariff  system.  It  was  favored  by  the  North  and 
opposed  by  the  South.  Parties  degenerated  into  factions  and 
the  personal  popularity  of  the  political  leaders  had  more  to  do 
with  their  success  than  any  principles  they  professed.  In  1828, 
Mr.  Adams  was  a  candidate  for  re-election,  but  was  defeated  by 
Andrew  Jackson,  who  had  178  votes,  to  Adams's  83.  Jackson 
was  a  narrow-minded  man  of  limited  education,  strong  preju- 
dices, violent  temper,  and  little  schooling  in  statesmanship. 
His  popularity  grew  out  of  his  success  as  a  military  commander. 
He  introduced  personal  government  at  Washington  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  any  of  his  predecessors  or  successors. 
Fealty  to  him,  personally,  was  the  chief  test  of  merit  in  hia 
••yes.  For  a  time  the  country  was  divided  into  a  Jackson  party 
and  an  anti-Jackson  party,  all  other  names  being  lost  sight  of. 
Jackson  introduced  into  American  politics  the  theory  that  "  to 
the  victors  belong  the  spoils  ;"  he  was  the  first  President  who 
removed  from  office  all  persons  not  favorable  to  him  politically. 
John  Quincy  Adams  had  made  a  few  removals  of  officials  in 
high  position,  but  there  was  a  great  public  clamor  against  him 
for  this  act.  Jackson  swept  the  entire  public  service  of  every- 


HIKTOR  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBLIVAN  PARTY.          13 

body  who  had  not  favored  his  election,  aud  filled  the  offices 
with  his  personal  partisans.  The  corruption  of  American  poli- 
tics in  more  recent  times  is  largely  due  to  this  high-tempered, 
bigoted,  and  egotistical  man  ;  but  his  glaring  faults  almost 
merit  complete  forgiveness,  in  view  of  his  great  service  to  the 
country  in  suppressing  the  nullification  movement  in  South 
Carolina. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  South,  and  particularly  the  Democratic 
Party  in  the  South,  had  asserted  the  doctrine,  that  the  Consti- 
tution is  a  federal  compact  between  sovereign  States,  and  that 
in  such  compacts  between  sovereigns  who  are  equal  there  is 
no  arbiter,  each  State  being  the  rightful  judge,  as  a  party  to  the 
compact,  of  the  constitutionality  of  any  measure  of  the  General 
Government.  This  view  was  asserted  by  the  Legislatures  of 
Virginia  and  Kentucky,  in  what  are  generally  called  the  reso- 
lutions of  1798.  The  doctrine  that  each  State  can  judge  for 
itself  whether  the  laws  or  the  action  of  the  Government  is  con- 
stitutional or  not  became  in  time  a  part  of  the  platform  of 
principles  of  the  Democratic  Party,  and  was  held  to  with  par- 
ticular zeal  by  the  people  of  the  South.  In  1832,  South  Caro- 
lina, under  thr>  lead  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  endeavored  to  resist 
the  enforcement  of  the  new  tariff  law,  by  a  process  called  nul- 
lification. Less  from  statesmanship  and  patriotism,  probably, 
than  from  motives  of  personal  hostility  to  Mr.  Calhoun, 
President  Jackson  threw  himself  with  all  the  force  of  his  reso- 
lute nature  upon  the  other  side,  and  declared  his  intention  to 
treat  nullification  as  treason,  and  to  hang  the  men  who  resisted 
the  authority  of  the  United  States.  He  ordered  a  large  armed 
force  to  Charleston  and  thus  put  an  end  to  the  incipient  move- 
ment for  dissolving  the  Union.  His  vigorous  conduct  caused 
the  total  abandonment  of  the  theory  that  a  State  can  set  aside 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  at  its  pleasure.  The  South 
shifted  its  policy,  and  soon  began  to  rally  on  a  new  position, 
namely,  that  when  a  State  does  not  like  the  conduct  of  the 


14         HISTOR  T  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PA  R  TY. 

General    Government,    it    has    a    right    to    secede    from    the 
Union. 

The  nullification  question  was  not  taken  up  as  a  party  issue, 
and,  indeed,  Jackson  gave  it  very  little  time  to  ferment  in  the 
public  mind.  He  furnished  the  country  with  an  issue,  how- 
ever, by  assailing  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  an  institution 
modelled  somewhat  after  the  Bank  of  England  and  having  close 
relations  to  the  Government.  It  is  said  that  Jackson's  hostility 
to  the  bank  arose  from  the  refusal  of  one  of  its  brandies  in  the 
South  to  cash  his  checks  when  he  was  carrying  on  the  Florida 
"War.  In  1832,  the  President  recommended  the  removal  of  the 
public  funds  from  the  bank.  Congress  refused  to  authorize  the 
removal.  Then  Jackson,  on  his  own  responsibility,  ordered  the 
Secretary  to  withdraw  the  deposits  and  place  them  in  certain 
State  banks.  That  officer  refusing,  he  was  removed  and  Mr. 
Taney  appointed  to  his  place.  The  bank  was  broken  down,  a' 
great  financial  panic  followed,  and  serious  commercial  distress 
afflicted  the  country.  The  opponents  of  Jackson's  policy  to- 
ward the  bank  organized  themselves  under  the  name  of  the 
"Whig  Party,  taking  this  name  because  the  Whig  Party  in  Eng- 
land had  resisted  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the  king.  Thus, 
by  a  curious  change  of  the  political  situation,  the  leader  of  the 
Democrats,  the  party  formed  to  resist  strong  government  in  this 
country,  became  the  type  and  exemplar  of  the  strong  govern- 
ment idea,  and  the  Whigs,  the  successors  of  the  Federalists, 
became,  as  they  imagined,  the  defenders  of  the  people  against 
the  encroachments  of  Executive  power.  In  1832,  just  before 
the  bank  question  came  up,  Jackson  was  re-elected  by  219  elec- 
toral votes,  against  a  divided  opposition,  casting  49  votes  for 
Henry  Clay,  11  for  John  Floyd,  and  7  for  William  Wirt. 
A  short-lived  popular  excitement  against  secret  societies,  and 
especially  against  the  Masons,  sprang  up,  and  Wirt  was  the  can- 
didate of  a  new  party  called  the  Anti-Masonic  Party.  He  got 
the  electoral  vote  of  Vermont.  Martin  Van  Buren  \vns  chosen 


mSTOR  T  OF  THE  REP  UBL1CAN  PARTY.          15 

Vice-president.  In  1836,  General  Jackson  put  forward  Mr.  Van 
Buren  as  his  successor.  The  bank  question,  the  tariff  question, 
and  opposition  to  the  personal  government  of  Jackson  were  the 
chief  issues.  Jackson  had  made  a  powerful  impression  on  the 
rather  unorganized  public  sentiment  of  the  country  by  his  bold- 
ness and  independence,  and  his  influence  was  sufficient  to  secure 
the  election  of  Van  Buren.  He  received  170  electoral  votes. 
The  Whig  vote  was  divided  between  William  Henry  Harrison, 
73  ;  Hugh  L.  White,  2G  ;  Daniel  Webster,  1-1  ;  and  Willie  P. 
Mjngum,  11.  Up  to  1833  national  nominating  conventions 
were  unknown.  A  party  caucus  of  members  of  Congress 
selected  the  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- President,  and 
not  unfrequently  State  Legislatures  put  candidates  in  the  field. 
Van  Buren's  administration  was  exceedingly  unpopular.  The 
commercial  crisis  of  1837  and  the  hard  times  which  followed 
reacted  powerfully  against  the  dominant  party.  The  adminis- 
tration was  charged  with  the  dullness  of  trade,  the  stagnation 
of  industry,  the  scarcity  of  good  money,  and  the  alarming 
number  of  business  failures.  More  to  the  hard  times  than  to 
any  other  cause  was  due  the  overwhelming  success  of  the 
Whigs  in  1840.  The  Whigs  held  a  national  convention  at 
Harrisburg,  in  December,  1839,  and  nominated  General  Harri- 
son for  President,  and  John  Tyler  for  Vice-President.  The 
Democrats  held  their  convention  at  Baltimore,  in  May,  1840, 
and  unanimously  nominated  Van  Buren  for  re-election.  The 
campaign  was  the  most  exciting,  demonstrative,  and  dramatic 
that  had  ever  taken  place  in  this  country,  and  the  result  was 
that  Harrison  and  Tyler  received  234  electoral  votes,  and  Van 
Buren  60.  The  Democratic  vote  for  Vice-President  was 
divided.  Harrison's  popular  vote  was  1,275,011,  and  that  of 
Van  Buren  1,128,702.  Although  Harrison's  majority  of  the 
popular  vote  was  a  very  small  one,  his  electoral  majority  was 
enormous,  a  discrepancy  which  strikingly  illustrates  the  pecu- 
liarity of  our  electoral  system. 


16          HISTORY  OF  TUK  REPUBLICAN  PAliT'i. 

Harrison  died  a  month  after  his  inauguration — worried  to 
death  by  office-seekers,  it- is  said.  His  successor,  John  Tyler, 
proved  treacherous  to  the  Whig  Party,  espoused  the  views  of 
the  Democrats,  changed  his  Cabinet,  and  finally  went  over 
to  the  Democratic  side. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

REVIVAL.   OP     THE     SLAVERY     AGITATION THE     LIBERTY    PARTY. 

IN  1844,  the  Democrats  nominated  James  K.  Polk  for  Presi- 
dent, and  the  Whigs  nominated  Henry  Clay.  The  question  of 
the  extension  of  slave  territory  entered  largely  into  the  canvass. 
A  treaty  had  been  negotiated  for  the  annexation  of  Texas,  then 
an  independent  Republic,  but  still  claimed  by  Mexico  as  a  f>art 
of  her  dominions.  The  treaty  was  rejected  by  the  Senate  and 
the  Democratic  Party  throughout  the  country  took  it  up  and 
declared  in  their  conventions  that  it  was  a  great  American 
measure.  The  Whigs  were  nearly  unanimous  in  their  opposi- 
tion to  the  Texan  scheme  ;  in  the  North,  because  of  their  un- 
willingness to  give  the  slave  power  another  State  ;  in  the 
South,  on  various  grounds  of  expediency.  The  opposition  of 
the  Whigs  was  not  sufficiently  clear  and  earnest,  however,  to 
draw  to  their  support  all  the  voters  hostile  to-  the  annexation 
project.  A  party  was  organized  which  took  broad  grounds 
against  the  extension  of  slavery  and  assumed  for  itself  the  name 
of  the  Liberty  Party.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  offshoot  from  the  anti- 
slavery  organizations  throughout  the  North.  A  struggle  arose 
in  the  American  Anti-slavery  Society  as  to  the  duty  of  its  mem- 
bers. One  faction,  headed  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
abstained  wholly  from  voting,  on  the  ground  that  the  Constitu- 
tion was  a  covenant  with  the  slave  power  to  protect  slavery. 
The  other  faction  insisted  that  the  way  to  fight  slavery  was  to 
use  the  \svapon  <,i  !  hy  ballot.  This  faction  became  the  Liberty 


HISWRY  OF  THK  REPUBLICAN  r.UlTY. 

Pi.rty.  and  nominated  James  G.  Birney  for  President.  Jt  was 
a  very  small  party,  but  an  exceedingly  earnest  one,  and  although 
it  never  had  a  majority  in  any  State,  and  probably  not  in  any 
1  v,  it  frequently  held  the  balance  of  power,  and  exerted 
considerable  influence  on  the  two  great  parties.  Just  before  the 
election  of  1844,  Mr.  Clay  wrote  a  letter  which  dissatisfied  the 
Liberty  Party  and  also  the  anti-slavery  Whigs  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  About  16,000  votes  were  cast  in  New  York  for 
Birney  and  were  mostly  withdrawn  from  the  Whig  ticket.  This 
detection  caused  the  loss  of  the  State  to  Clay,  defeated  him 
for  the  Presidency,  and  changed  the  whole  subsequent  history 
of  the  country.  The  result  of  the  election  was  174  votes  for 
Polk  and  Dallas,  and  105  for  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen,  the  vote 
of  New  York  turning  the  scale.  Under  Folk's  administra- 
tion, Texas  was  admitted  and  war  was  waged  with  Mexico. 
The  war  was  opposed  by  most  of  the  Northern  Whigs  who  had 
begun  to  be  considerably  tinctured  with  anti-slavery  sentiments 
and  still  more  strongly  opposed  by  the  Liberty  Party  men  and 
the  Garrisonians,  now  called  by  the  name  of  Abolitionists,  who 
thought  that  the  purpose  of  the  conflict  "was  to  secure  more  ter- 
ritory to  be  made  into  slave  States. 

The  decline  of  the  Whig  Party  dates  from  this  period.  As  a 
national  organization  it  was  obliged  to  cater  to  the  South,  where  a 
large  part  of  its  strength  lay,  and  no  positive  declaration  against 
the  extension  of  slavery  could  be  got  from  its  conventions.  At 
the  same  time  a  feeling  of  hatred  to  the  slave  power  had  obtained 
a  firm  lodgment  in  the  mind  of  a  large  portion  of  its  Norther!.- 
members.  The  Whig  Party  embraced  in  its  membership  a 
much  larger  portion  of  the  intelligent  and  educated  classes  of 
the  country  than  its  rival,  the  Democratic  Party.  In  the  South, 
these  classes  contented  themselves  with  opposition  to  extreme 
pro-slavery  measures  threatening  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union, 
but  in  the  North  they  began  more  and  more  to  demand  such 
action  as  should  ^top  the  growth  of  the  slave  power  and  secure 
to  freedom  all  the  unoccupied  territory  of  the  United  States. 


18          aiUTO*r  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JCHB  WIJ.MOT  PBOVISO— THE  FREE  SOIL  PARTY — THE  CAMFAI8K 

OF  1848. 

IT  became  apparent  before  the  end  of  the  war,  that  the  de- 
feat of  Mexico  would  be  followed  by  the  cession  of  a  large  part 
of  her  territory  to  the  United  States,  and  the  question  began  to 
hr  agitated  in  Congress  as  early  as  1847,  of  what  should  be  the 
'•'jndition  of  the  territory  in  reference  to  slavery.  At  a  consul- 
tation of  members  of  the  House  from  the  free  States,  who  felt 
that  the  extreme  limit  of  justifiable  concession  to  slavery  had 
already  been  reached,  David  Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  pre* 
sented  the  following  proviso,  to  be  offered  to  any  bill  for  the 
organization  of  new  Territories  :  "  That  as  an  express  and  fun- 
damental condition  to  the  acquisition  of  new  territory  frem  the 
Republic  of  Mexico,  by  the  United  States  by  virtue  of  any  treaty 
that  may  be  negotiated  between  them,  and  to  the  use  by  the 
Executive  of  any  moneys  herein  appropriated,  neither  slavery  nor 
involuntary  servitude  shall  ever  exist  in  any  part  of  said  terri- 
tory, except  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  first  be  duly  con- 
victed." This  was  the  famous  Wilmot  Proviso  which  played  a 
large  part  in  the  political  history  of  the  succeeding  years.  It 
served  to  bring  together  many  members  of  both  the  Whig  and 
Democratic  organizations  who  were  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
slavery.  Its  advocates  were  called  in  the  political  nomencla- 
ture of  the  day,  "  Wilmot  Proviso  Men, "  although  they  adhered 
lor  a  time  to  their  old  party  connections.  The  proviso  was 
offered  to  the  bill  for  negotiating  a  treaty  with  Mexico,  but  it 
was  defeated  in  the  House. 

In  1848  the  Democrats  nominated  for  President,  General 
Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan.  His  principal  competitors  in  the  con- 
vention were  James  Buchanan  and  Levi  Woodbury.  The 
nominee  for  Vice-President  was  Geneial  William  O.  Butler,  of 


HISTOR  T  OF  THE  HEP  UBLICAN  PAR  TY.          19 

Kentucky.  The  New  York  Democrats  divided  into  two  fac- 
tions, one,  called  "Barn-burners,"  opposed  the  extension  of 
slavery,  and  the  other,  styled  "Hunkers,"  sympathized  fully 
with  the  South.  The  "  Barn-burners  "  bolted  from  the  Demo- 
cratic convention,  and  sent  delegates  to  a  national  convention 
held  at  Buffalo,  which  organized  a  new  party,  called  the  Free 
Soil  Party.  The  Free  Soil  Party  was  the  legitimate  successor 
of  the  Liberty  Party  of  1848.  The  Buffalo  Convention  nomi- 
nated Martin  Van  Bitren  for  President,  and  Charles  Francis 
Adams  for  Vice-President.  Van  Buren's  nomination  weakened 
the  moral  force  of  the  new  movement,  for  while  President  he 
had  been  a  tool  of  the  slave  power,  and  only  since  his  retire- 
meat  to  private  life  had  he  expressed  himself  against  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery  to  the  Territories.  The  motive  of  his  nomination 
was  to  secure  the  votes  of  "  Barn-burners  "of  New  York  and 
to  defeat  Cass. 

The  Whig  National  Convention  met  in  Philadelphia  and 
nominated  General  Zachary  Taylor,  of  Louisiana,  for  Presi- 
dent. His  chief  competitors  for  the  nomination  were  Henry 
Clay,  General  Scott,  and  Daniel  Webster.  Taylor's  nomination 
was  exceedingly  popular  in  the  country  on  account  of  his  bril- 
liant service  in  the  Mexican  War  and  his  lack  of  any  political 
record  with  which  fault  could  be  found.  The  Democrats,  in 
their  convention,  refused  to  endorse  the  extreme  Southern  view, 
that  slaves  were  property  and  could  be  carried  into  the  Terri- 
tories under  the  protection  of  the  Government.  The  Whigs 
dodged  the  slavery  question  altogether.  The  Free  Soilers 
claimed  that  the  Constitution  was  hostile  to  slavery  and  intend- 
ed to  limit  it  to  the  States  where  it  existed  by  virtue  of  local 
laws,  and  further,  that  the  'Federal  Government  should  relieve 
if  from  all  responsibility  for  the  existence  of  the  institution. 
At  the  election,  General  Taylor  carried  15  States,  with  163 
•  •1.  it  oral  votes  ;  and  General  Cass  15  States,  with  137  electoral 
'•utes.  Van  Buren  carried  no  State,  but  had  a  large  vote 


20          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

throughout  the  North.  The  entire  popular  vote  stood,  Taylor 
and  Fillmore,  1,360,752  ;  Cass  and  Butler,  1,219,962  ;  Van. 
Buren  and  Adams,  291,842.  The  general  effect  of  the  canvass 
was  to  show  that  the  Democrats  were  pretty  thoroughly  com- 
mitted to  the  slave  power  and  that  the  Whigs  did  not  dare  to 
antagonize  it.  The  agitation  produced  by  Van  Buren' s  candi- 
dacy served  a  good  purpose  in  further  arousing  public  senti- 
ment in  the  North  to  the  encroachments  of  slavery. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    COMPROMISE    OK    1850    AND    THE    FUGITIVE-SLAVE    LAW. 

SOON  after  the  peace  with  Mexico,  which  secured  to-  tho 
United  States  all  the  territory  comprised  in  the  present  States 
of  California  and  Nevada,  and  the  Territories  of  Utah,  Arizona, 
and  Xew  Mexico,  gold  was  discovered  in  California,  and  an  im- 
mense rush  of  emigration  occurred.  In  a  short  time  there  were 
people  enough  there  to  form  a  State  Government.  They 
adopted  a  Constitution  prohibiting  slavery,  nncl  applied  for  nil 
mission  to  the  Union.  At  that  time  there  were  l">  slave  States 
and  15  free  States,  and  the  admission  of  California  would  place 
the  free  States  in  the  majority  of  one.  It  was  therefore  vehement- 
ly opposed  by  the  representatives  of  the  slave  power.  Many  slave 
States  threatened  secession  if  the  new  State  should  be  admitted 
without  some  concessions  to  secure  tho  equality  of  the  South  in 
the  future.  They  demanded  a  recognition  of  their  claim  that 
slavery  could  not  be  prohibited  in  the  Territories  or  its  exist- 
ence be  made  an  objection  to  the  admission  of  a  new  State. 
They  also  demanded  a  guarantee  against  the  abolition  of  slav- 
ery in.  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  a  stringent  fugitive-slave 
law.  The  contest  in  Congress  lasted  nearly  two  years,  and  was 
finally  settled  by  what  is  known  as  the  Compromise  of  1850. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          21 

Zachary  Taylor,  who  though  a  slaveholder  did  not  sympa- 
thize with  the  extreme  Southern  view,  had  died  before  the  con- 
troversy culminated,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  his  successor,  openly 
.•spoused  the  side  of  the  pro-slavery  leaders.  The  compromise 
wns  advocated  by  Henry  Clay,  and  received,  also,  the  support  of 
the  great  Northern  Whig  leader,  Daniel  Webster,  who  aban- 
doned his  anti-slavery  position  and  went  over,  with  his  great  in- 
tellect and  influence,  to  the  slave  power.  His  action  divided 
the  Whig  Party  in  the  North  and  practically  gave  it  a  death- 
blow. Wm.  H.  Seward  became  the  leader  of  the  anti-slavery 
Whigs.  The  compromise  of  1850  admitted  California  with  its 
free  Constitution,  and  left  for  future  settlement  the  status  of 
the  rest  of  the  conquered  territory  in  respect  to  slavery ;  re- 
jected the  Wilmot  Proviso,  and  paid  Texas, $10, 000,000  for  a 
visionary  claim  to  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico  ;  prohibited 
slave  auctions  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  enacted  the 
odious  fugitive-slave  law.  This  law  shocked  the  sense  of  justice 
of  the  more  intelligent  portion  of  the  Northern  people  and 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  preparing  men's  minds  for  the 
advent  of  the  Republican  Party.  It  provided  for  the  return  of 
alleged  fugitives  without  trial  by  jury,  allowing  their  captors  to 
take  them  before  a  United  States  Commissioner,  who  was  em- 
powered to  remand  them  on  the  ex-parte  depositions  of  the  slave- 
catchers.  The  Commissioners  were  paid  ten  dollars  in  case  they 
directed  the  return  of  the  alleged  fugitive,  and  five  dollars  if,  for 
any  cause,  they  decided  against  the  claimant.  In  effect,  there- 
fore, they  were  offered  a  bribe  to  decide  against  the  person 
claimed  as  a  slave.  Slave-catchers  were  authorized  to  summon 
bystanders  to  their  aid,  and  all  good  citizens  were  commanded 
to  assist  in  the  arrest  of  alleged  fugitive  slaves.  The  law,  in 
effect,  ordered  the  people  of  the  North  to  turn  slave-catchers 
and  threatened  them  with  heavy  penalties  in  case  they  harbored 
or  assisted  any  fugitive.  Numerous  cases  of  extreme  brutality 
arose  from  the  execution  of  this  law.  Professional  slave- 


22          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN' PARTY. 

hunters  invaded  the  North  a.nd  captured  colored  persons  with- 
out much  regard  to  whether  they  had  run  away  from  slavery  or 
not.  In  some  cases  there  was  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  and  trials  occurred  which  served  to  increase  the  irrita- 
tion in  the  public  mind.  The  law  was  vehemently  denounced 
by  the  anti-slavery  Whigs,  the  anti-slavery  Democrats,  and  the 
Free  Soilers,  and  the  Abolitionists  found  in  it  a  new  text  for 
the  crusade  they  preached  with  so  much  earnestness  and  self- 
denial  against  the  "sum  of  all  villainies. "  Some  of  the  Northern 
States  passed  what  were  known  as  "Personal  Libertv  Bills," 
practically  nullifying  the  fugitive-slave  law  and  punishing  as  kid- 
nappers persons  who  sought  to  carry  oil  alleged  slaves  without 
trial  by  jury.  These  personal  liberty  bills  furnished  a  notable 
illustration  of  the  powerlessness  of  theories  of  government, 
when  human  rights  are  involved.  Hitherto  the  slave  States 
had  alone  maintained  extreme  State  rights  doctrines,  but  now 
the  free  States  practically  asserted  such  doctrines  in  their  legis- 
lation hostile  to  the  Federal  authority.  The  personal  liberty 
bills  set  at  naught  the  authority  of  the  United  States  so  far  as 
it  was  sought  to  be  exercised  in  the  enforcement  of  the  fugitive- 
slave  law.  They  asserted  the  right  of  the  State  to  protect  the 
people  within  her  borders  from  arrest  and  imprisonment  with- 
out trial  and  from  being  carried  off  as  slaves.  They  fell  back 
upon  the  clause  in  the  Constitution  which  says,  "  In  any  suit> 
at  common  law,  whereof  the  value  of  the  controversy  shall  ex- 
ceed $20,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved."  -Fugi- 
tives were  claimed  to  be  property  exceeding  that  value,  and  it 
was  asserted  that  they  could  not  be  deprived  of  their  liberty 
without  a  jury  trial.  Public  agitation  against  the  fugitive-slave 
law  increased  from  year  to  year,  and  it  finally  became  impracti- 
cable in  most  parts  of  the  North,  save  in  the  great  cities,  to  re- 
claim fugitives.  Not  only  was  this  the  case,  but  associations 
were  formed  hi  many  parts  of  the  North  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  slaves  to  escape  to  Canada.  The  lines  over  which  tK- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          M 

fugitives  were  forwarded  by  day  and  by  night,  by  the  anti- 
slavery  people,  were  known  as  the  "Underground  Railroad.'1 
Many  thousands  of  negroes  escaped  from  the  border  States  to 
Canada  by  the  aid  of  this  institution,  and  became  industrious 
and  valuable  citizens  of  the  British  dominions. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CAMPAIGN    OF    1852 — DEFEAT    OF     THE     WHTQ   PARTY. 

THE  Whig  and  Democratic  Parties  had  been  fully  committed 
by  the  action  of  their  representatives  in  Congress  to  the  en- 
dorsement of  the  compromise  measures  of  1850,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent before  their  national  conventions  met  in  1852  that  they 
would  rival  each  other  in  professions  of  fidelity  to  those  meas- 
ures. Indeed,  a  public  pledge  had  been  signed  by  Henry  Clay, 
Howell  Cobb,  and  about  fifty  other  members  of  Congress,  of 
both  parties,  agreeing  to  abide  by  the  compromise  as  a  final 
adjustment  of  the  controversy  between  the  free  and  the  slave 
States.  The  Democratic  Convention  surprised  the  country  by 
dropping  General  Cass,  James  Buchanan,  and  Stephen  A.  Doug- 
las, who  were  the  leading  candidates  for  the  nomination,  and 
taking  up  Franklin  Pierce  of  New  Hampshire,  a  man  almost 
unknown  outside  of  his  own  State.  On  the  50th  ballot  Pierce 
was  nominated.  Win.  R.  King  of  Alabama,  was  nominated  for 
Vice-president  on  the  second  ballot.  The  convention  declared 
that  the  compromise  of  1850  was  a  finality  and  that  the  Demo- 
cratic Party  would  resist  all  attempts  at  renewing  the  agitation 
of  the  slavery  question.  The  Whig  National  Convention  nomi- 
nated General  Winfield  Scott  for  President.  The  other  candi- 
dates were  Millard  Fillmore  and  Daniel  Webster.  Scott  was 
nominated  on  the  52d  ballot,  and  Wm.  O.  Grnham  of  North 
Carolina  was  put  on  the  ticket  for  Vice-President.  The  plat- 


*±          HISTORY  OF  THE  UKPUBLKJAN  PARTY. 

form  endorsed  the  compromise  of  1850,  including  the  fugitive- 
slave  law,  and  declared  that  the  system  it  established  was 
essential  to  the  nationality  of  the  "Whig  Party  and  the  integrity 
of  the  Union.  The  Whigs  went  into  the  canvass  with  a  good 
deal  of  apparent  vitality,  but  before  the  close  it  was  evident 
that  the  poison  of  slavery  had  sapped  the  vitality  of  the  party 
The  Free  Soilers  met  at  Pittsburg,  in  August,  and  nominated 
John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hampshire,  for  President,  and  Gco.  W. 
Julian  of  Indiana,  for  Vice-President.  Their  platform  was  op- 
position to  the  extension  of  slavery  and  their  battle-cry  was 
"Free soil,  free  speech,  free  States,  and  free  men."  In  some- 
States  the  supporters  of  Hale  and  Julian  took  the  name  of  Free 
Democrats,  in  others  they  called  themselves,  Free  Soil  Demo- 
crats, and  in  still  others,  simply  Free  Soilers.  They  did  not 
poll  as  large  a  vote  as  in  1848.  Numbers  of  New  York  Demo- 
crats who  then  voted  for  Van  Buren,  returned  to  their  old  alii  - 
giance.  They  had,  however,  a  pretty  effective  organization  in 
all  of  the  Northern  States,  sustained  a  number  of  influential 
newspapers,  and  placed  in  the  field  many  able  stump-speakers. 
Most  of  their  vote  was  drawn  from  the  Whigs.  The  result  of 
the  election  was  that  the  Democrats  carried  all  the  States  in 
the  Union  except  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Kentucky,  and 
Tennessee,  choosing  254  electors.  General  Scott  received  only 
42  electoral  votes.  The  popular  vote  was,  Pierce,  1,601,474  ; 
Scott,  1,336,578;  Hale,  156,149.  The  disaster  to  the  Whigs 
was  so  overwhelming  that  it  killed  their  party.  They  kept  up 
some  form  of  an  organization  for  four  years  longer,  but  it  \va» 
merely  a  shadow7.  The  party  had  no  longer  an  excuse  for  liv- 
ing. Its  former  principles  of  a  protective  tariff  and  a  wise  sys- 
tem of  internal  improvements  had  very  little  hold  upon  the 
public  mind.  The  country  was  rapidly  dividing  on  the  slavery 
question,  and  as  the  Democratic  party  was  generally  recognized 
to  be  the  principal  ally  of  the  slave  power,  there  was  no  room 
1'or  another  organization  not  definitely  opposed  to  that  power 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          35 

The  dead  party  was  sincerely  mourned,  particularly  by  a  class  of 
its  adherents  in  the  North,  represented  by  Seward  and  Grceley, 
who  had  hoped  to  lead  it  over  to  anti-slavery  ground.  It  was 
also  regretted  by  a  considerable  element  of  educated  and  con- 
servative people  in  the  South,  sincerely  attached  to  the  Union, 
and  apprehensive  of  grave  dangers  to  the  peace  of  the  country 
from  the  extreme  ground  taken  on  the  slavery  question  by  thr 
Democrats.  The  disappearance  of  the  Whigs  as  an  organize 
tion  from  the  field  of  politics  opened  the  way  for  the  formation 
of  the  Republican  Party,  by  a  new  and  formidable  agency,  which 
will  be  described  in  the  next  chapter,  coming  in  to  complete 
the  work. 


.CHAPTER   VIII. 

KISE    AND    KALI,    OF     THE     KNOW-NOTHING    OR    AMERICAN    PARTY. 

BETWEEN  the  years  1853  and  1855  there  suddenly  arose  a 
party  of  phenomenal  growth  and  extraordinary  ideas.  It  took 
for  itself  the  name  of  the  American  Party,  but  its  members  were 
generally  known  by  the  popular  slang  term  of  "  Know-Noth- 
ings," which  they  did  not  themselves  object  to.  They  were 
organized  into  secret  lodges,  with  pass-words  and  grips,  and  were 
sworn  to  vote  for  no  one  for  a  public  office  w  lio  was  not  a 
native.  They  proposed  that  citizenship  should  not  be  con- 
ferred, so  far  as  the  right  of  voting  was  concerned,  until  after 
twenty -one  years'  residence.  They  were  peculiarly  hostile  to 
the  Catholics,  and  claimed  that,  the  priests  of  that  Church  con- 
trolled the  votes  of  their  parishioners.  The  growth  of  this 
new  organization  was  marvellous.  It  spread  like  wild-fire  over 
the  country  and  before  it  was  two  years  old  managed  to  carry 
many  important  local  and  State  elections.  It  must  not  be  sup- 
posed, however,  that  it  was  absolutely  without  roots  in  the  past. 
Native  Americanism  as  a  spntiment  had  existed  since  about. 


26         HISTORY  OP  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

the  year  1830,  and  had  in  several  localities  in  the  East  assumed 
at  different  periods  the  form  of  political  organization?.  Jr 
rested  on  a  not  unreasonable  apprehension  of  the  growing  power 
of  the  foreign  element  in  the  large  cities  of  the  country.  This 
element,  in  large  part  ignorant  of  our  system  of  government, 
frequently  banded  together  to  carry  municipal  elections,  and 
elected  objectionable  persons  to  office.  When  the  idea  of 
nativism  spread  to  the  whole  country  and  became  the  basis  of  a 
national  party  it  was  illogical  and  unpatriotic,  because  the 
growth  of  the  United  States  had  been  largely  the  result  of 
foreign  immigration  and  a  great  part  of  its  wealth  had  been  pro- 
duced by  the  labors  of  its  foreign-born  citizens.  Many  of  these 
citizens  were  men  of  marked  intellectual  and  moial  \v<"-tli,  who 
had  studied  thoroughly  the  American  system  of  free  government, 
and  had  come  to  this  country  to  escape  the  despotic  limitations 
of  life  in  the  Old  World.  In  seeking  to  exclude  such  men  from 
voting  and  holding  office  in  the  land  of  their  adoption,  the 
Know-Nothing  movement  was  evidently  unjust. 

The  rapid  spread  of  the  secret  Know-Nothing  lodges  cannot 
be  accounted  for  by  the  principles  of  ordinary  political  action. 
A  study  of  the  laws  of  mind  which  govern  the  propagation  of 
intellectual  delusions  and  produce  phenomenal  movements  in 
the  world  of  religion  as  well  as  of  politics  would  be  necessary 
for  a  philosophical  treatment  of  the  matter.  Undoubtedly,  the 
decay  of  the  Whig  party  had  much  to  do  with  the  rise  of  this 
new  movement.  Men  were  suddenly  cut  adrift  from  their  old 
party  politics.  In  this  situation  they  easily  became  a  prey  to  a 
movement  which  had  the  fascination  of  secrecy  and  laid  claims 
to  lofty  motives  of  patriotism.  The  Know-Nothing  party  cul- 
minated in  1855.  It  nominated  Millard  Fillmore  for  President 
in  1856,  but  it  was  already  on  the  wane  at  that  time,  and  short!} 
after  the  slavery  question  had  so  completely  absorbed  the  public 
mind  that  Know-Nothingism  subsided  as  rapidly  as  it  had  risen, 
find  in  a  single  year  disappeared  from  the  field  of  politics.  It 


HISTORY  OP  THE  UEPUfiUCAX  PARTI'.  27 

played  a  part  of  some  importance  hi  the  work  of  forming  the 
Republican  Party,  by  making  a  sort  of  bridge  upon  which 
many  old  "Whigs  crossed  over  to  that  organization. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    ANTI-SLAVERY   SOCIETIES   AND    THEIR    WORK. 

BEFORE  proceeding  with  the  chronological  order  of  our  nar- 
rative, it  is  time  that  we  should  pause  for  a  moment  to  consider 
the  work  of  the  anti-slavery  societies  in  the  North.  Their 
members  were  few  in  number  and  were  usually  despised  by  the 
masses  of  people  as  impractical  theorists  and  negro-worshippers, 
who  threatened  the  tranquillity  of  the  country  and  the  perma- 
nence of  the  Union,  but  they  were  men  of  earnest  convictions 
and  lofty  moral  purpose,  who,  by  their  tireless  exertions,  gradual- 
ly wore  into  the  Northern  mind  a  conception  of  the  atrocity  of 
slavery.  These  societies  were  strongest  in  New  England,  on  the 
Western  Reserve  of  Ohio,  and  in  the  Quaker  communities  of 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Indiana.  They  supported  a  number  of 
eloquent  public  lecturers,  who  traversed  the  country  and  ad- 
dressed meetings  in  school- houses,  churches,  and  in  the  open  air. 
Often  these  orators  were  received  with  opprobrium  and  insult  ; 
sometimes  they  were  brutally  treated  by  angry  mobs  ;  but  they 
kept  on  heroically  with  their  noble  task.  The  condition  of 
public  sentiment  in  the  North  on  the  slavery  question,  prior  to 
1850,  can  scarcely  be  understood  by  the  present  generation. 
Even  the  church  organizations  were,  as  a  rule,  bitterly  hostile 
to  all  forms  of  anti-slavery  agitation.  The  Abolitionists,  as  the 
anti-slavery  men  were  generally  called,  were  looked  upon  as  no 
better  than  criminals.  A  bigoted,  unreasoning,  and  often  brutal 
devoteeism  to  the  slavery  system  h;id  t  iken  possession  of  the 
public  mind,  and  whoever  oucj,tiuur<l  the  constitutionality  9r 


28         HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

perpetuity  of  that  system  ran  the  risk  of  ostracism  in  his  social 
and  business  relations,  and  if  he  publicly  advocated  his  ideas, 
actually  took  his  life  in  his  own  hands.  This  sentiment  caused 
the  anti-slavery  men  to  draw  closely  together  for  mutual  en- 
couragement and  assistance.  They  believed  in  the  sacred 
humanity  of  their  work.  Their  lecturers  were  entertained  like 
brethren  at  the  homes  of  the  members  of  the  society  wheie- 
ever  they  went,  and  every  anti-slavery  man  regarded,  every 
other  anti-slavery  man  in  the  light  of  a  near  personal  friend.  In 
some  parts  of  the  country,  they  held  annual  conventions  under 
tents  or  in  groves.  A  number  of  newspapers  advocated  their 
ideas,  chief  among  which  was  the  Liberator,  published  in  Boston 
by  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  who  was  generally  recognized  as 
the  head  of  the  movement.  Horace  Greeley,  in  his  "Ameri- 
can Conflict,"  divided  the  opponents  of  slavery  in  the  period 
preceding  the  formation  of  the  Republican  Party  into  four 
classes  : 

1.  The  Garrisonians,  who  regarded  the  Federal  Constitution 
as  a  covenant  with  death  and  an  agreement  with  hell.     They 
pledged  themselves  to  wage  against  slavery  an  unrelenting  war, 
to  regard  and  proclaim  the  equal  and  inalienable  rights  of  every 
innocent  human  being  as  inferior  or  subordinate  to  no  other, 
and  to  repudiate  all  creeds,  rituals,  constitutions,  governments, 
and  parties  that  rejected  these  fundamental  truths.     They  gen- 
erally declined  to  vote,  believing  the  Government  and  all  politi- 
cal parties  so  corrupted  by  slavery  that  no  one  could  take  any 
part  in  politics  without  moral  defilement. 

2.  The  members  of  the  Liberty  Party  who,   regarding  the 
Federal    Constitution    as    essentially  anti-slavery,   swore  with 
good  conscience  to  uphold  it   and  to  support  only  candidates 
who  were  distinctly,  determinedly,  and  permanently  champions 
of  liberty  for  all. 

3.  Various  small  sects  and  parties  which  occupied  a  middle 
ground  between  the  above  positions,  agreeing  with  the  latter 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  '       29 

iu  interpreting  and  revering  the  Constitution  as  consistently 
anti-slavery,  while  refusing  with  the  former  to  vote. 

4.  A  large  and  steadily  increasing  class  who,  though  decid- 
edly anti-slavery,  refused  either  to  withhold  their  votes  or  to 
throw  them  away  on  candidates  whose  election  was  impossible, 
but  persisted  in  voting  at  nearly  every  election  so  as  to  effect 
good  and  prevent  evil  to  the  extent  of  their  power. 

The  influence  of  all  the  various  forms  of  anti-slavery  agita- 
tion in  opening  the  way  for  the  advent  of  the  Republican  Party, 
and  laying  the  foundation  for  that  great  organization,  can 
scarcely  be  overstated. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   KANSAS-NEBRASKA   STRUGGLE. 

THE  result  of  the  election  of  1852  was  to  place  the  Demo- 
crats in  complete  control  of  the  National  Government.  They 
had  the  President  and  a  large  majority  in  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress. Their  party  was  now  completely  dominated  by  the  pro- 
slavery  element.  Franklin  Pierce  had  been  nominated  by 
Southern  votes  and  was  wholly  subservient  to  the  slave  power. 
In  spite  of  the  professions  of  the  Democrats  in  their  platform  of 
1852,  in  which  they  declared  the  compromise  measures  of  1850 
to  be  a  finality,  settling  forever  the  contest  between  the  free 
and  the  slave  States,  Congress  had  scarcely  met  in  1853  befuiv 
the  South  began  to  agitate  for  the  repeal  of  the  prohibition  of 
slavery  north  of  the  line  of  36  degrees  30  minutes.  The  vast 
plains  lying  beyond  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Missouri  were  known 
to  be  fertile  and  adapted  for  settlement.  To  remove  the  Indian 
tribes  occupying  them  and  make  out  of  the  region  two  new 
slave  States,  thus  flanking  the  free  States  on  the  Avest  and 
securing  for  slavery  all  of  the  vast  region  beyond  the  Missouri 
River,  was  the  ambitious  scheme  of  the  Southern  leaders.  It 


3U          HISTORY  OP  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

mattered  not  that  the  faith  of  the  South  had  been  pledged,  first 
by  the  compromise  of  1820  and  then  by  that  of  1850,  adopted 
as  a  final  settlement  of  the  slave  agitation.  The  pro-slavery 
leaders  felt  their  power  and  determined  to  exercise  it.  After  a 
tremendous  struggle  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  they  passed  a 
bill  repealing  the  prohibition  of  1820,  and  opening  all  of  the 
new  Northwest  to  slavery.  The  extreme  pro-slavery  Democrats 
asserted  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  unconstitutional  and 
that  Congress  had  no  power  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territory  of 
the  United  States.  They  further  asserted  that  the  people  of  the 
new  Territory  had  no  power  themselves,  by  their  own  territorial 
statutes,  to  interfere  with  the  holding  of  slave  property.  A 
more  moderate  wing  of  the  party,  headed  by  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  broached  what  was  known  as  the  popular  sovereignty 
doctrine,  which  was  that  the  people  of  the  Territories  should 
themselves  decide  whether  they  would  have  free  or  slave  States, 
and  that  Congress  had  no  authority  to  interfere  with  them. 
Abraham  Lincoln  once  characterized  this  doctrine  as,  in  Ml'  ct, 
that  one  man  had  the  right  to  enslave  another,  but  a  third  in;:ii 
had  no  right  to  interfere.  Mr.  Douglas's  position  prevailed, 
and  the  act  organi/ing  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
passed  in  1854,  permitted  the  introduction  of  slaves  into  those 
Territories  and  loft  the  people  free  to  regulate  their  domestic 
institutions  in  their  own  way. 

The  passage  of  this  act  created  intense  public  excitement  in 
the  North.  It  was  regarded  as  a  breach  of  faith  on  the  part  cJ 
rhe  South  and  as  the  forerunner  of  measures  designed  to  extend 
slavery  over  the  whole  country.  Tn  every  Northern  State  Ian;./ 
numbers  of  men  of  influence  broke  loose  from  the  old  political 
organizations,  and  were  styled  "  Anti-Nebraska  Men."  Public 
meetings  were  held  denouncing  the  measure,  and  a  great  popular 
movement,  hostile  to  the  encroachment  of  slavery,  arose  spon- 
taneously on  a  wave  of  excitement  which  swept  over  the  entire 
North.  The  Territory  of  Nebraska  was  too  far  away  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

slave  States  to  be  occupied  to  any  great  extent  by  emigrants 
from  the  South,  but  a  fierce  struggle  arose  for  the  possession  of 
the  Territory  of  Kansas.  Armed  men  from  Missouri  moved 
over  the  border  at  once  to  occupy  the  region  and  keep  out 
Northern  immigrants.  The  Indian  titles  were  quickly  extin- 
guished by  the  Democratic  administration  and  the  public  lands 
thrown  open  for  settlement.  The  first  party  of  emigrants  from 
the  free  States  were  visited  by  an  armed  mob  and  ordered  to 
leave  the  Territory.  The  spirit  of  the  North  was  fully  aroused, 
however,  and  thousands  of  brave,  intelligent  men  went  to 
Kansas,  determined  to  make  it  a  free  State.  A  contest  ensued 
which  lasted  for  several  years,  and  was  generally  called  at  the 
time  "  The  Border  Ruffian  War."  Reckless  and  lawless  men 
from  the  Missouri  border  harassed  the  Northern  settlers.  Many 
free  State  men  were  brutally  murdered.  The  town  of  Lawrence 
was  sacked  and  burned  in  part  by  an  armed  force  of  pro-slavery 
men.  A  regiment  of  wild  young  men  from  the  South  was  re- 
cruited in  Alabama  by  Colonel  Buford,  and  invaded  the  Terri- 
tory for  the  avowed  purpose  of  subjugating  the  Northern 
settlers.  The  North  supported  her  emigrants  with  fresh 
re-  enforcements  and  with  consignments  of  rifles  and  ammunition. 
Numerous  encounters  occurred  with  more  or  less  loss  of  life. 
At  the  village  of  Ossawatomie,  a  pitched  battle  was  fought, 
wherein  28  free  State  men  led  by  John  Brown  defeated,  on  the 
open  prairie,  56  border  ruffians  led  by  Captain  Pate  of  Virginia. 
In  the  struggle  for  Kansas,  the  South  fought  against  the  laws 
of  nature.  Very  little  of  the  Territory  was  adapted  for  the 
raising  of  cotton,  and  slavery  had  been  found  profitable  only  in 
the  cotton  regions.  Few  emigrants  from  the  South  went  with 
their  negroes  to  the  new  Territory,  while  resolute  Northern 
farmers  and  mechanics  poured  in  year  after  year  in  large  num- 
ber*. The  slave  power  then  undertook  to  secure  possession  of 
Kansas  by  fraud.  At  the  first  election  for  a  Territorial  Legis- 
lature, thousands  of  Missourians  crossed  the  Kansas  border  and 


32         HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

voted.  The  free  State  men  disregarded  this  election,  held 
another,  and  organized  a  legislature  of  their  own,  so  that  for  a 
time  there  were  two  legislatures  in  session.  In  the  same 
manner,  two  State  Constitutions  were  formed,  one  at  Lecomp- 
ton,  by  a  convention  composed  of  members  chosen  in  great 
part  by  fraudulent  Missouri  votes,  and  one  at  Lawrence,  by  a 
convention  representing  the  anti-slavery  settlers  of  the  Terri- 
tory. The  administration  at  Washington  endeavored  to  force 
the  pro-slavery  Constitution  upon  the  people.  Great  efforts 
were  made  to  this  end  through  the  agency  of  the  Federal  office- 
holders in  the  Territory,  supported  by  detachments  of  Federal 
troops,  and  these  efforts  were  abandoned  only  when  it  became 
evident  that  the  free  State  men  were  in  an  overwhelming 
majority  and  were  determined  to  have  their  rights.  The  Kan- 
sas War  finally  degenerated  into  a  series  of  plundering  raids 
by  parties  of  Missourians,  but  these  in  time  became  too  hazard- 
ous to  be  continued.  Some  Democrats  in  Congress  opposed  the 
course  of  the  administration  toward  Kansas  and  were  called 
Anti-Lecompton  Democrats,  but  the  bulk  of  the  party  stood 
steadily  on  the  side  of  the  South  as  long  as  the  Democrats  held 
power  in  Congiess.  Kansas,  with  its  free  State  Constitution, 
was  refused  admission  to  the  Union. 

Every  incident  of  the  long  struggle  in  Kansas  was  promptly 
reported  in  the  Northern  papers,  and  the  anti-slavery  element  in 
the  North  followed  the  conflict  with  intense  interest,  and 
looked  upon  the  men  who  took  their  lives  in  their  hands  and 
n-ynt  to  the  new  Territory  to  secure  it  for  freedom  as  heroes  of 
:i  just  and  patriotic  cause.  It  was  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Bill  and  the  struggle  between  freedom  and  slavery  beyond  the 
Missouri  which  finally  crystallized  the  anti- slavery  sentiment  of 
the  North  into  the  organization  known  as  the  Republican 
Party. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          83 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Ti'K.    OSTEND   MANIFESTO.    TITK   DKKD   SCOTT    DECISION,    AND    THH 
ATTACK   ON   CHARLES    STJMNER. 

THREE  events  occurring  in  the  period  we  are  now  describing 
contributed  powerfully  towards  increasing  the  alarm  in  the 
North  at  the  purposes  and  spirit  of  the  slave  power.  In  August 
1854,  Secretary  of  State  William  L.  Marcy  secretly  directed 
James  Buchanan.  John  Y.  Mason,  and  Pierre  Soule,  our  minis- 
ters at  London,  Paris,  and  Madrid,  respectively,  to  meet  in 
some  European  city  and  confer  about  the  best  method  of  get- 
ting possession  of  Cuba.  The  conference  took  place  at  Ostend, 
and  resulted  in  a  dispatch  to  our  Government,  known  as  the 
"  Ostend  Manifesto,"  which  recommended  the  immediate 
purchase  of  Cuba,  and  threatened  Spain  with  a  forcible  seizure 
of  the  island  in  case  she  should  refuse  to  sell  it.  The  purpose 
of  the  Cuban  annexation  scheme  thus  developed  was  to  prevent 
the  island  from  ever  becoming  a  free  republic  like  San 
Domingo,  and  to  make  out  of  it  one  or  more  slave  States  to  re- 
enforce  the  slave  power  in  Congress.  Nothing  came  of  the 
manifesto,  save  the  resulting  anger  of  European  nations  and  the 
increased  determination  created  in  the  North  to  oppose  the 
schemes  of  the  pro-slavery  leaders. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  Spates  at  this  time  was 
thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  projects  of  the  pro-slavery 
Democracy.  The  leaders  of  that  party  determined  by  a  bold 
stroke  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot  of  controversy  as  to  the  power 
of  the  Government  over  slavery  in  the  Territories,  and  for  this 
purpose  they  procured  from  the  court  what  was  known  as  the 
Bred  Scott  decision.  Dred  Scott  was  a  negro  belonging  to  an 
army  officer  who  had  taken  him  into  a  free  State.  This  act  en- 
titled the  slave  to  his  liberty,  and  when  he  was  afterward  taken 
buck  to  Missouri  he  sued  for  his  freedom.  The  case  was  carried 


34         HISTORY  OP  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

up  to  the  Supreme  Court.  A  majority  of  the  judges  decided 
that  persons  of  African  blood  were  never  thought  of  or  spoken  of 
except  as  property  when  the  Constitution  was  formed,  and  were 
not  referred  to  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  says 
that  all  men  are  created  free  and  equal  and  entitled  to  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Such  persons,  the  court 
declared,  had  no  status  as  citizens,  and  could  not  sue  in  any  court, 
and  were  so  far  inferior  that  they  had  no  rights  that  a  white 
man  was  bouud  to  respect.  Proceeding  then  to  the  question  of 
slavery  in  the  Territories,  the  court,  through  its  Chief-Justice, 
Roger  B.  Taney,  held  that  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  which 
says  that  "  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property 
belonging  to  the  United  States,"  applied  only  to  territory  that 
belonged  to  the  United  States  when  the  Constitution  was 
framed,  and  that  in  all  other  territory  the  slaveholder  had  the 
right  to  take  his  slaves,  and  Congress  had  no  right  to  prevent 
him.  This  partisan  decision  was  practically  agreed  to  in  1S55, 
but  was  held  back  until  after  the  campaign  of  1856,  and  made 
public  early  in  1857.  It  was  designed  to  prohibit  Congress 
from  making  any  laws  respecting  slavery  in  the  Territories,  and 
to  exclude  all  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  of  African 
blood,  or  mixed  blood,  from  all  of  the  privileges  of  citizenship, 
so  far  as  such  privileges  were  guaranteed  and  protected  by  the 
Federal  Government.  «The  decision  shocked  the  humanity  of 
the  North,  but  was  received  in  the  South  with  great  satisfac- 
tion. The  slaveholders  thought  that  they  had  at  last  secured 
from  an  authority  that  could  not  be  disputed  an  absolute  en- 
dorsement of  their  most  extreme  theories  and  had  thrown  over 
the  institution  of  slavery  the  protecting  shield  of  the  highest 
tribunal  in  the  land.  They  little  dreamed  of  what  the  future 
had  in  store  for  them. 

In  May,  1856,  a  brutal  and  wanton  attack  was  made  upon 
Charles    Sumner,   a   Senator   from   Massachusetts,    by  Preston 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          35 

Brooks,  a  Representative  from  South  Carolina.  Mr.  Surrmer 
had  made  a  speech  upon  the  Kansas  question,  in  which  he  had 
sharply  criticised  the  State  of  South  Carolina  and  had  reflected 
somewhat  severely  upon  Butler,  one  of  her  Senators.  After  the 
Senate  had  adjourned  he  was  sitting  at  his  desk  engaged  in 
writing,  when  Brooks  approached  him  from  behind,  felled  him 
to  the  floor  with  a  blow  from  a  heavy  cane,  and  continued  to 
beat  him  about  the  head  till  he  was  unconscious.  A  South 
Carolina  member  named  Keitt  and  a  Virginia  member  named 
Edmonson  stood  by  at  the  time  to  prevent  interference  with 
the  dastardly  outrage.  Mr.  Sumner  was  severely  injured  and 
never  fully  recovered  his  former  health.  A  disease  of  the  spine 
ensued,  and  he  was  obliged  to  resort  to  a  painful  form  of  treat- 
ment which  kept  him  for  two  years  out  of  his  seat  in  the  Senate. 
The  outrage  produced  great  indignation  throughout  the  North, 
which  was  intensified  by  the  ovations  paid  to  the  ruffian 
Brooks  when  he  returned  home  to  South  Carolina. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ORGANIZATION   OP  THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY — CAJIPAIGX    OF 
1856. 

THE  necessity  for  the  organization  of  a  national  party  to  re- 
sist the  encroachments  of  slavery  was  felt  throughout  the 
North  immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  Kansas -Nebraska 
Bill.  Events  had  already  shaped  the  platform  for  such  a  party. 
It  was  in  all  men's  minds,  and  might  have  been  formulated  in  a 
single  sentence,  "  The  freedom  of  the  Territories  from  the  curse 
of  slavery."  Interference  with  slavery  in  the  States  where  it 
existed  by  virtue  of  State  law  had  not  been  thought  of,  save 
by  the  Abolitionists,  who  did  not  count  as  apolitical  force.  The 
men  who  were  prepared  to  join  a  new  party  organization  deter- 


36         HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

mined  that  slavery  should  be  wedged  in  within  the  region  where 
it  already  existed,  and  that  no  protection  should  be  given  by 
Federal  law  to  property  in  slaves  in  the  States  whose  laws  de- 
clared that  no  such  property  should  exist.  The  elements  pre- 
pared for  crystallization  into  a  new  party  were  the  late  Free 
Soilers,  the  anti-slavery  Whigs,  and  a  small  number  of  Demo- 
crats calling  themselves  anti-Nebraska  men.  The  question 
of  when  the  Republican  Party  first  originated,  and  who  gave  it 
its  name,  has  been  much  disputed,  but  within  the  past  three 
years  it  has  come  to  be  pretty  generally  acknowledged  that  the 
Michigan  State  Convention,  held  at  Jackson,  early  in  June, 

1854,  was  the  first  State  representative  body  to  take  the  name 
of  Republican.    The  title  was  suggested  in  a  letter  from  Horace 
Greeley  to  a  delegate  to  that  convention.  This  letter  was  shown 
to  the  late  Senator  Howard  and  several  other  influential  men. 
The  suggestion  was  deemed  a  good  one,   and  the  name  was 
formally  adopted  in  the  resolutions  of  the  convention.     A  few 
weeks  later  it  was  adopted  by  State  conventions  in  Maine,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa.    In  most  of  the  New  Eng- 
land States,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  entire  South,  the  Whig 
Party  still  kept  alive  and  ran  tickets  that  year.    The  success  of 
the  Republicans  in  all  the  States  where  they  ran  straight  tickets 
nf  their  own  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  further  extension  of 
the  party.     It  won  its  first  national  triumph  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  elected  in  1854,  which  convened  in  December, 

1855,  when  the  Republican  candidate  for  Speaker,  N.  P.  Banks 
of  Massachusetts,  was  elected. 

In  a  single  year,  the  Republican  Party  had  carried  most  of 
the  Northern  States  and  had  secured  a  controlling  influence  in 
the  lower  house  of  Congress.  Its  leaders  were  mostly  men  of 
anti-slavery  convictions  from  the  old  Whig  Party,  like  Fessen- 
den,  Sumner,  Greeley,  Seward,  Chase,  Wade,  and  Chandler,  but 
there  were  among  them  several  former  Democrats.  No  account 
was  made  of  old  political  affiliations,  however,  and  the  only 
test  of  membership  was  opposition  to  the  encroachments  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.         37 

slave  power.  In  1855,  the  Republicans  strengthened  their 
State  organizations  and  were  successful  in  most  of  the  Northern 
States.  The  Whig  Party  gave  some  last  feeble  signs  of  life  in 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  Ohio.  At  the 
South,  the  Whigs  almost  in  a  mass  merged  themselves  into  the 
Know-Nothing  or  American  organization.  Conservative  men 
in  that  section,  opposed  to  reopening  the  slavery  controversy, 
did  not  venture  to  ally  themselves  with  the  Republicans  of  the 
North,  but  took  refuge  in  the  American  Party,  where  they  were 
able  for  a  brief  time  to  combat  the  ultra  pro-slavery  element. 

Thus  far  the  Republicans  had  no  national  organization.  On 
the  22-d  of  February,  1856,  the  first  Republican  National  Con- 
vention was  held  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Its  purpose  was 
to  better  organize  the  party  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
Presidential  campaign.  A  second  convention,  to  nominate  a 
President  and  Vice-President,  met  in  Philadelphia  on  the  17th 
of  June,  and  was  presided  over  by  Henry  S.  Lane,  of  Indiana. 
John  C.  Fremont,  the  intrepid  Western  explorer,  was  nomi- 
nated for  President  on  the  first  ballot,  receiving  359  votes,  to 
196  for  John  McLean.  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey, 
received  259  votes  for  Vice-President  on  an  informal  ballot,  to 
110  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  180  scattering.  Mr.  Dayton  was 
then  unanimously  nominated.  The  platform  welcomed  to  the 
party  all  who  were  opposed  to  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise and  the  extension  of  slavery  in  the  Territories,  and  who 
favored  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a  free  State.  It  demanded 
the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  all  of  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States,  and  denied  the  authority  of  Congress  or  a  Territorial 
Legislature  to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any  Territory, 
freedom  being  the  public  law  of  the  national  domain  under  the 
Constitution.  It  asserted  the  right  and  duty  of  Congress  to 
prohibit  in  all  Territories  those  twin  relics  of  barbarism,  slavery 
and  polygamy. 

The  Democratic  Convention  met  in  Cincinnati  on  the  2d 
of  June,  and  nominated  James  Buchanan  for  President  on,  tht 


38          BISTORT  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

17th  ballot.  The  voting  at  first  was  close  between  Buchanan 
and  Pierce,  Douglas  Laving  a  small  following.  Toward  the 
end,  all  the  opposition  to  Buchanan  centred  on  Douglas.  The 
nominee  for  Vice-President  was  John  C.  Breckinridge  of  Ken- 
tucky. The  platform  denounced  all  attempts  to  prevent  slavery 
in  the  Territories  or  the  District  of  Columbia  by  legislation,  and 
all  objection  to  the  admission  of  a  new  State  on  the  ground 
that  it  established  slavery.  It  revived  the  Kentucky  and 
Virginia  resolutions  of  179?  and  1798,  which  contained  an 
assertion  of  extreme  State  rights  doctrines.  It  also  recognized 
the  right  to  maintain  slavery  in  any  part  of  the  public  do- 
main, and  promised  the  faithful  execution  of  the  fugitive-slave 
law. 

The  Know-Nothings,  now  calling  themselves  Americans,  met 
in  Philadelphia, on  the  22d  of  February,  and  nominated  for  Presi- 
dent Millard  Fillmore  of  New  York,  and  for  Yice-President, 
Andrew  Jackson  Donelson  of  Tennessee.  Their  platform  de- 
manded that  none  but  natives  should  hold  office  and  that 
foreigners  should  not  vote  until  they  had  lived  twenty-ono 
years  in  the  country.  On  the  17th  of  September  an  insignifi- 
cant remnant  of  the  once  powerful  "Whig  Party  convened  in 
Baltimore  and  ratified  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Fillmore.  Their 
meeting  attracted  very  little  public  attention. 

The  Presidential  contest  of  1856  was  exceedingly  animated  in 
all  of  the  Northern  States.  Colonel  Fremont,  although  without 
any  record  as  a  politician,  proved  an  exceedingly  popular  can- 
didate. The  Republicans  carried  every  Northern  State  except 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  California,  and 
gave  to  their  ticket  114  electoral  votes.  The  Americans  carried 
but  one  State,  Maryland.  Buchanan's  electoral  vote  was  174. 
Of  the  popular  vote,  Buchanan  received  1,838,169  ;  Fremont, 
1,341,264  ;  Fillmore  874. 534.  Buchanan  had  therefore  a 
decided  plurality  but  he  lacked  377,  G2i)  votes  of  k  majority 
over  both  of  hi*  competitor  a. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SEP  UBLICAN  PAETT.          59 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
N  BROWN'S  RAID  —  HELPER'S  "IMPENDING  CRISTI." 


AN  event  that  had  a  powerful  effect  in  exciting  the  South, 
and  in  aggravating  the  growing  sectional  feeling  in  the  North, 
took  place  in  1859.  John  Brown,  who  had  distinguished  him- 
self as  a  brave  free  State  leader  in  the  Kansas  war,  invaded 
Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  on  the  17th  of  October,  with  an  armed 
force  consisting  of  17  white  men  and  5  negroes.  The  invad- 
ers tore  up.  the  railroad  track,  cut  the  telegraph  wires,  and 
took  possession  of  the  United  States  Armory  ;  doing  this  by  the 
authority  of  God  Almighty,  they  said.  Brown  issued  a  proc- 
lamation calling  upon  the  slaves  of  the  South  to  rise  and  de- 
mand their  liberty.  The  frightened  inhabitants  of  the  place 
appealed  to  the  State  authorities  to  come  to  their  aid.  and  the 
State  called  upon  the  General  Government.  A  force  of  United 
States  marines  was  promptly  despatched  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
a  large  body  of  Virginia  militia  was  soon  on  the  ground. 
Brown  and  his  followers  defended  themselves  in  the  armory 
building.  A  sharp  conflict  ensued.  Hemmed  in  on  all  sides, 
Brown  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce,  but  the  bearer,  Stephens,  was 
instantly  shot  down  by  the  Virginians.  One  of  Brown's  men 
was  captured  by  the  Virginia  militia,  dragged  out  upon  the 
railroad  bridge,  and  shot  in  cold  blood.  Four  of  Brown's,  party 
attempted  to  escape  by  crossing  the  river,  but  three  were  mortally 
wounded.  Brown  made  his  last  stand  in  an  engine  house,  where 
he  repulsed  his  assailants,  who  lost  two  killed  and  six  wounded. 
The  fight  went  on  all  day  ;  at  night  Brown's  forces  were  reduced 
to  three  unwouncled  whites  besides  himself.  Eight  of  his  men, 
including  two  of  his  sons,  were  already  dead,  another  lay  dy- 
ing, and  two  were  captives,  mortally  wounded.  Next  morning 
the  marines  charged  the  engine  house,  battered  down  the  door, 
and  captured  Brown  with  his  surviving  followers.  The  pur- 


40          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

pose  of  the  raid  upon  Harper's  Ferry  was  to  stimulate  an  insur- 
rectionary movement  throughout  the  South.  Brown  had  drawn 
up  a  sketch  for  a  provisional  government,  and  had  nominated 
several  of  his  followers  to  the* principal  executive  offices.  ll<- 
was  held  a  prisoner  for  about  six  weeks,  tried  at  Charlestown, 
Virginia,  and  hanged  on  the  3d  day  of  December,  exhibiting 
to  the  last  a  heroic  fortitude  and  an  exalted  frame  of  mind  which 
won  for  him  the  admiration  of  even  his  bitter  enemies,  the  Virgin- 
ians, and  excited  deep  sympathy  throughout  the  North.  The 
South  was  profoundly  stirred  by  this  invasion,  insignificant  as  it 
was  in  its  dimensions  and  its  results.  The  Southern  people,  in 
their  excited  frame  of  mind  undoubtedly  believed  that  the 
John  Brown  raid  had  the  indorsement  of  the  Republican  Party 
of  the  North,  and  was  the  beginning  of  an  effort  to  destroy 
slavery  by  inciting  the  slaves  to  a  general  insurrection.  The 
horrible  history  of  the  San  Domingo  massacre  had  always  been 
a  terror  to  the  Southern  people,  and  a  rumor  of  a  negro  rising 
had,  on  several  occasions  in  the  past,  sufficed  to  throw  them 
into  a  convulsive  state  of  anger  and  apprehension.  It  was  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  an  effort  tp  organize  an  insurrection,  led 
by  courageous  white  men  froni  the  North,  should  provoke  their 
fiercest  animosity. 

John  Brown  had  few  apologists  though  a  great  many  sympa- 
thizers in  the  North.  His  movement  was  his  own  secret  and 
was  not  abetted  by  any  body  of  anti-slavery  men.  Just  how 
great  an  influence  it  exercised  on  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
country  it  would,  of  course,  be  impossible  to  measure,  but  the 
feelings  it  produced  and  the  memories  it  left  in  the  South  were 
a  principal  agency  in  inclining  the  Southern  people  to  separate 
from  the  North  and  set  up  a  Government  of  their  own. 

A  book  published  about  this  time  on  the  slavery  question 
added  to  the  irritation  in  the  South.  It  was  called  "  The  Im- 
pending Crisis,"  and  its  author  was  Hinton  R.  Helper,  a  North 
Carolinian,  who  had  migrated  to  California.  The  book  was 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          41 

nddressed  to  the  shtveholding  whites  of  the  South,  and  was  a 
powerful  argument,  re-enforced  by  statistics  drawn  from  United 
States  census  reports,  to  prove  that  slavery  cursed  the  indus- 
tries of  the  Southern  States.  The  poverty  of  those  States  in 
respect  to  accumulated  wealth  and  agricultural  products  in 
comparison  with  the  States  of  the  North,  was  forcibly  set  forth 
and  the  non-slaveholding  Southern  whites  were  urged  to  throw- 
off  the  control  of  the  small  minority  of  slaveholders  and  take 
the  affairs  of  their  States  into  their  own  hands.  The  circula- 
tion of  this  book  was  everywhere  prohibited  in  the  South.  It 
was  regarded  as  an  incendiary  document,  although  it  contained 
nothing  but  calm  reasoning  and  indisputable  statistics.  Several 
Republican  members  of  the  House  signed  a  letter  endorsing  the 
volume,  and  their  conduct  was  made  the  subject  of  an  acrimo- 
nious discussion.  At  one  time  a  resolution  came  near  passing, 
affirming  that  no  man  who  recommended  the  book  was  fit  to  be 
Speaker  of  the  House.  "  The  Impending  Crisis  "  had  an  im- 
mense sale  and  though  its  effect  in  the  South  was  only  to  aggra- 
vate the  pro-slavery  feeling,  it  opened  the  eyes  of  many  people 
in  the  North  to  the  blighting  effect  of  slavery  upon  industry, 
•n-uiufactun-s,  and  trade. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE   CAMPAIGN   OF    1860. 

THE  Republicans  were  not  discouraged  by  their  defeat  in 
1856.  They  saw  that  if  they  hud  carried  the  States  of  Penn- 
sylania  and  Indiana  they  would  have  succeeded,  and  felt  that 
they  had  formed  what  was  destined  to  be  the  great  party  of  the 
future,  and  that  their  principles  would  prevail  in  time.  The  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Dred  Scott  decision  immediately  after  the 
inauguration  of  Mr.  Buchanan  gave  new  vigor  to  the  Republican 
cause,  showing  as  it  did  that  the  pro-slavery  party  intended  to 


43         HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY, 

fully  subjugate  the  whole  country  and  make  of  it  a  vast  slave 
empire.  The  conduct  of  Buchanan  in  continuing  the  efforts  of 
Pierce  to  force  slavery  upon  the  Territory  of  Kansas  kept  alive 
trie  discussion  of  the  question  of  the  freedom  of  the  Territories 
until  the  next  Presidential  election.  Buchanan  was  as  fully 
subservient  to  the  South  as  Pierce  had  been.  His  administra- 
tion was  controlled  by  ultra  pro-slavery  men,  and  directed  its 
energies  to  carrying  out  the  schemes  of  the  slave  power. 

In  1858.  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  contested 
the  State  of  Illinois  for  the  United  States  Senatorship,  and  made 
a  memorable  canvass  which  attracted  great  attention  through- 
out the  country.  Douglas  advocated  what  was  known  as  his 
squatter  sovereignty  policy,  which  was  that  Congress  should 
abstain  from  all  legislation  as  to  slavery  in  the  Territories  and  al- 
low the  people  to  settle  the  question  for  themselves.  Mr.  Lincoln 
advocated  the  right  and  duty  of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in 
the  Territories.  Although  Lincoln  had  a  majority  of  the  popular 
vote,  Douglas  had  a  majority  in  the  Legislature  and  was  elect- 
ed. The  South  was  not  satisfied  with  the  Douglas  squatter 
sovereignty  plan,  the  theory  of  the  pro-slavery  leaders  being 
that  slavery  could  not  be  prohibited  in  the  Territories  by  any 
power  whatever.  This  theory  was  repugnant  to  a  great  majority 
of  the  Democrats  of  the  North,  and  the  conflict  between  it  and 
the  Douglas  theory  led  to  a  disruption  of  the  Democratic  party. 
The  Democratic  national  convention  met  at  Charleston,  on  the 
23d  of  April,  1860,  and  immediately  got  into  a  heated  contro- 
versy upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  Finally,  by  a  close  vote,  it 
was  resolved  that  as  differences  had  existed  in  the  party  as  to 
the  nature  and  extent  of  the  powers  of  the  Territorial  Legisl.-i- 
tures  and  as  to  the  powers  and  duties  of  Congress  under  the 
Constitution,  over  the  institution  of  slavery  within  the  Terri- 
tories, the  Democratic  party  would  abide  by  the  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  on  the  question  of  constitutional  law.  This 
exceedingly  guarded  and  neutral  declaration  angered  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          43 

Southern  delegates,  and  most  of  them  withdrew  from  the  con- 
vention. An  adjournment  was  carried  until  the  18th  of  June, 
when  the  convention  reassembled  in  Baltimore.  The  seceding 
delegates  met  and  adopted  an  extreme  pro-slavery  platform,  and 
adjourned  to  assemble  in  Richmond  June  llth.  The  regular 
convention  reassembled  in  Baltimore  .and  nominated  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  of  Illinois,  for  President,  and  Benjamin  Fitzpatrick, 
of  Alabama,  for  Vice-President.  Fitzpatrick  subsequently  de- 
clined, and  Herschel  V.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  was  substituted 
by  the  National  Committee.  The  Baltimore  Convention  affirmed 
Douglas'  squatter  sovereignty  theory.  The  Bolting  Convention 
met  in  Richmond  and  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  Baltimore, 
June  23d,  when  it  adopted  the  Charleston  platform  and  nomi- 
nated John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  for  President,  and 
Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon,  for  Vice-President. 

A  new  party,  composed  mainly  of  former  members  of  the  now 
dead  American  party  in  the  South  and  a  few  stubborn  old 
Whigs  in  the  North,  was  formed  at  Baltimore  May  9th.  It 
took  tiie  name  of  the  Constitutional  Union  party,  and  nominated 
for  President  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  and  for  Vice-President 
Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts.  This  party  declared  that  it 
recognized  no  political  principles  other  than  the  Constitution 
of  the  country,  the  union  of  the  States,  and  the  enforcement  of 
the  laws.  This  last  phrase  was  intended  to  refer  to  the  Fugitive 
Slave  law.  The  Republican  National  Convention  met  in  Chicago 
Mny  16th,  1860.  It  was  generally  supposed,  prior  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  convention,  that  William  H.  Seward  would  be  nomi- 
nated for  President.  He  was  recognized  as  the  chief  leader  of 
the  new  party,  and  its  greatest  teacher  on  the  political  bearing; 
of  slav.ery.  His  principal  competitor  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  of 
Illinois.  The  other  candidates  were  Simon  Cameron,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio.  Edward  Bates,  o.' 
Missouri,  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  John  McLean,  of 
Ohio,  and  Jacob  Collamer,  of  Vermont.  MJ.  Seward  led  on 


44          HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PARTY. 

the  first  and  second  ballot,  but  the  argument  that  he  would  not 
be  a  popular  candidate  in  the  States  of  Pennsylvania,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois — the  States  lost  by  the  Republicans  in  1856 — led  to 
the  nomination  of  Lincoln  on  the  third  ballot.  Hannibal  Ham- 
lin,  of  Maine,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President.  The  platform 
was  substantially  that  adopted  in  1856.  Its  chief  planks  were 
those  referring  to  slavery  in  the  Territories.  It  declared  freedom 
to  be  the  normal  condition  of  the  Territories,  and  denounced 
the  new  dogma  that  the  Constitution,  with  its  own  force,  carried 
slavery  there. 

In  the  campaign  of  1860  the  Republicans  were  united  and 
confident,  while  the  Democrats  were  divided  into  two  factions, 
which  fought  each  other  about  as  vigorously  as  they  did  their 
common  enemy.  These  factions  were  known  by  the  name  of 
their  leaders,  one  being  called  Douglas  Democrats,  and  the 
other  Breckinridge  Democrats.  There  were  few  Douglas  men 
in  the  South  and  few  Breckinridge  men  in  the  North.  The 
strength  of  the  new  Constitutional  Union  party  was  almost 
wholly  confined  to  the  South.  Every  free  State  but  New  Jersey 
was  carried  by  the  Republicans,  and  in  New  Jersey  the  refusal 
of  a  part  of  the  Douglas  men  to  support  the  fusion  ticket 
allowed  four  of  the  Lincoln  electors  to  slip  in.  The  electoral 
vote  was  divided  as  follows  :  Lincoln,  180,  all  from  the  North  ; 
Breckinridge,  72,  all  from  the  South  ;  Bell,  39,  from  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  ;  and  Douglas,  12,  from  Missouri  and 
New  Jersey.  The  popular  vote  was,  Lincoln,  1,857,610; 
Douglas,  1,291,574  ;  Breckinridge,  850,082  ;  Bell,  646,124. 

The  very  large  vote  given  to  Mr.  Douglas  was  due,  in  some 
part,  to  his  personal  popularity.  He  was  the  idol  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  of  the  North,  and  had  the  South  chosen  to  give 
him  its  support,  instead  of  seceding  from  the  convention  and 
nominating  Breckinridge,  he  would  probably  have  been 
elected  President.  With  his  comparatively  moderate  views  on 
the  tubject  of  slavery,  which  were  becoming  more  and  more 


OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  4=5 

modified  in  the  right  direction  as  he  saw  the  tendency  of  the 
pro-slavery  leaders,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he  would  have 
averted  or  at  least  postponed  the  war. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

SECESSION — REBELLION — WAR. 

As  soon  as  the  election  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  was  known  to 
be  beyond  dispute,  movements  for  seceding  from  the  Union 
began  in  the  South.  The  Southern  leaders  did  not  wait  to 
learn  what  the  policy  of  the  new  administration  would  be,  but 
made  haste  to  break  the  relations  of  their  States  with  the  Union 
and  to  form  a  separate  government,  under  the  title  of  the  Con- 
federate States  of  America.  As  early  as  December  South 
Carolina  seceded  ;  other  States  followed  during  the  winter,  and 
in  February  a  complete  Rebel  government  was  organized  at 
Montgomery  and  a  Rebel  army  put  into  the  field.  A  consider- 
able party  in  the  Southern  States,  composed  mostly  of  old 
Whigs,  opposed  secession,  but  were  overpowed  by  the  more 
active,  unscrupulous,  and  determined  supporters  of  <he  move- 
ment. During  the  session  of  Congress  just  prior  to  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's inauguration  great  efforts  were  made  in  the  way  of  con- 
ciliatory propositions  to  induce  the  Southern  States  not  to 
renounce  their  allegiance  to  the  Union.  The  Republicans  were 
willing  to  go  to  the  farthest  extent  possible  not  involving  the 
vital  principle  of  their  party  that  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States  were  free  soil  by  virtue  of  the  Constitution.  The  plan 
known  as  the  Crittenden  Compromise  received  a  large  vote  in 
both  Houses,  although  opposed  by  most  Republicans.  Its 
principal  provision  was  that  all  of  the  territory  north  of  latitude 
36  degrees  and  30  minutes  should  forever  be  free,  and  that  all 
of  the  territory  south  of  that  line  should  be  givea  up  to  slavery. 


46         HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Senator  Anthony,  a  Republican,  was  willing  to  admit  New 
Mexico  as  a  slave  State,  because  slavery  already  existed  there, 
but  this  was  as  far  as  he  or  any  other  Republican  proposed  to 
go  concerning  the  disputed  question  of  the  condition  of  the 
Territories.  A  series  of  resolutions,  accompanied  by  a  constitu- 
tional amendment,  passed  both  Houses,  however,  guaranteeing 
slavery  in  the  States  where  it  existed  against  any  interference 
on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  recommending  the 
Northern  States  which  had  passed  laws  obstructing  the  recovery 
of  fugitives  to  repeal  them.  A  Peace  Conference,  invited  by 
the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  sat  in  Washington  in  February. 
Thirteen  Northern  States  and  seven  Southern  States  were  rep- 
resented. Its  propositions  had  no  effect  in  staying  the  rising 
tide  of  rebellion.  The  Southern  leaders  hud  fully  made  up 
their  minds  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and  although  many  of  them 
remained  in  Congress  up  to  the  time  of  Lincoln's  inauguration, 
they  did  so  avowedly  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  legislation 
which  might  be  hostile  to  their  section. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  trace  the  history  of  the 
war  for  the  preservation  of  Ihe  Union  further  than  is  necessary 
to  show  the  action  of  the  political  parties  concerning  its  prose- 
cution. '  The  Republican  party  was  Ihe  war  party  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  of  the  struggle,  holding  the  Union  to 
be  a  perpetual  bnnd,  and  not  a  league  which  could  be  dissolved 
at  the  pleasure  of  any  of  its  members.  It  also  held  that  the 
Republic  was  indestructible,  and  that  the  duty  of  the  United 
States  Government  was  to  enforce  obedience  to  its  authority. 

The  Democratic  party  in  tho  North  was  in  an  extremely 
awkward  predicament  when  the  storm  of  war  burst  upon  the 
country.  For  a  whole  generation  it  had  maintained  the  theory 
of  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions,  that  the  States  were 
sovereign  and  were  themselves  the  judges  of  the  constitution- 
ality of  the  Federal  laws  and  acts.  Out  of  this  theory  grew 
logically  another,  that  the  Government  had  no  right  to  coerce 


HISTOR T  OF  THE  REP UBLICAN  PARTY.          47 

sovereign  States.  This  was  the  theory  upon  which  3Tr. 
Buchanan's  administration  proceeded  during  the  three  months 
in  which  the  Rebellion  organized  itself  throughout  the  South. 
It  continued  to  be  held  by  a  considerable  portion  of  the  North- 
ern Democracy,  but  the  patriotic  feeling  which  followed  the 
attack  upun  Fort  Sumter  caused  it  to  be  exceedingly  un- 
popular for  a  while,  and  it  was  rarely  avowed  in  public  during 
the  first  year  of  the  war.  For  a  time  there  was  but  one  politi- 
cal paityin  the  North,  and  that  was  the  party  of  the  Union.  As 
the  war  went  on,  however,  and  it  became  evident  that  it  was 
going  to  be  a  long  struggle  and  no  holiday  parade,  as  mnny  had 
imagined,  the  Democrats  took  courage  and  reorganized  their 
party  as  an  anti-administration  party.  They  did  not  avowedly 
oppose  the  prosecution  of  the  war  at  that  time  ;  some  of  them, 
indeed,  insisted  that  if  they  were  in  power  they  would  push  it 
more  vigorously,  but  the  spirit  of  their  movement  was  cne  of 
dissatisfaction  with  the  contest.  In  1SC2,  after  the  disaster  to 
our  armies  on  the  Peninsula  and  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  a  feeling  of  discontent  arose  throughout  the  North 
which  took  the  form  of  hostility  to  the  Republican  party  in  the 
fall  elections  of  that  year.  The  Democrats  carried  the  great 
central  belt  of  States,  beginning  with.  New  Yoik  and  ending 
at  the  Mississippi  River.  Fortunately,  in  only  one  State  was 
there  a  Governor  to  be  elected.  That  was  in  the  State  of  New- 
York,  where  the  Democrats  chose  Horatio  Seymour,  by  the  aid 
of  enormous  election  frauds  committed  in  the  City  of  New 
York.  The  Republicans  were  barely  able  to  secure  a  majority 
in  the  new  House,  and  were  for  a  time  greatly  discouraged 
by  their  reverses  and  apprehensive  that  the  Democratic 
triumphs  might  lead  to  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
Rebellion.  In  1863,  .however,  the  capture  of  Yicksburg  by 
General  Grant  and  the  decisive  victory  at  Gettysburg  com- 
pletely turned  the  current  of  public  sentiment.  The  Republi- 
cans recovered  that  year  e'-ery  State  they  had  lost  in,  1862. 


48          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Wherever  the  contest  was  the  hottest  there  their  victory  was 
the  greatest.  The  great  political  battle  of  the  year  occurred  in 
Ohio,  where  the  Democrats  nominated  Clement  L.  Vallandig- 
ham  for  Governor.  He  was  an  avowed  opponent  of  the  war 
and  an  open  sympathizer  with  the  South.  The  majority  against 
him  was  the  largest  ever  given  at  any  election  in  the  State,  run- 
ning up  to  nearly  100,000. 

In  1863,  the  Democratic  party  in  most  of  the  Northern  States 
threw  off  all  pretension  of  sympathy  with  the  Union  cause.  On 
this  account  they  were  given  by  the  Republicans  the  name  of 
"  copperheads."  In  some  parts  of  the  West  they  wore  pins  made 
of  the  butternut,  to  typify  their  sympathy  -with  the  South,  the 
Southern  soldiers  being  frequently  clad  in  homespun  dyed  with 
the  juice  of  that  nut. 

A  long  and  bloody  riot  occurred  in  the  City  of  New  York  in 
1863,  in  which  thousands  of  Democrats  resisted  the  draft  and  held 
possession  of  many  parts  of  the  city  for  several  days,  murdering 
a  number  of  people.  The  Democratic  Governor  of  the  State, 
Horatio  Seymour,  addressed  the  mob  in  front  of  City  Hall,  at 
the  height  of  the  riot,  and  styled  the  lawless  persons  composing 
it  "my  friends.''  The  riot  was  finally  suppressed  by  United 
States  troops,  after  considerable  slaughter.  In  the  State  of 
Indiana  a  formidable  conspiracy  under  the  title  of  the  "  Sons 
of  Liberty,"  was  organized  by  the  Democratic  sympathizers  with 
the  South,  but  was  suppressed  by  the  vigilance  and  courage  of 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  the  Republican  Governor  of  the  State. 

In  several  of  the  States  the  Republicans  in  1863  dropped  their 
party  name  and  took  that  of  the  Union  party,  iu  order  to  save 
the  feelings  of  the  war  Democrats  who  desired  to  co-operate 
with  them.  The  voting  force  of  these  war  Democrats  was  com- 
paratively small,  but  among  them  were  a  number  of  men  of 
undoubted  patriotism  and  high  position  in  the  country.  Most 
of  them  continued  to  co-operate  with  the  Republican  party 
during  and  after  the  war. 


HISTORY  OF  THK  RBPUBLJCA1S  JfARTJ.          49 
CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    SLAVERY. 

THE  Republican  party  did  not  enter  the  war  with  the  purpose 
of  abolishing  slavery.  A  few  far-sighted  men  saw  that  tin- 
struggle  must  end  either  in  the  separation  of  the  South  or  the 
freedom  of  the  slaves,  but  the  masses  of  the  party  did  not  look 
beyond  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  and  the  preservation  of 
tiie  Union.  President  Lincoln  said  that  if  he  could  save  the 
I'uion  with  slavery  he  would  save  it,  and  that  if  lie  could  save 
it  without  slavery  he  would  save  it.  As  the  war  went  on.  tin- 
folly  of  recognizing  and  protecting  an  institution  which  gave 
the  rebels  a  large  force  of  laboring  men  to  stay  at  home  and 
raise  food  for  their  armies  became  plainly  apparent,  and  there 
was  a  general  demand  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  as  a  war  meas- 
ure. It  was  not,  however,  till  April,  18C2,  that  slavery  was  abol- 
ished in  the  District  of  Columbia,  nor  till  June,  1864,  that  the 
Fugitive  Slave  laws  were  repealed.  In  the  early  military  opera- 
tions against  the  Rebellion  great  care  was  taken  not  to  excite 
insurrections  among  the  slaves,  and  the  negroes  who  came  into 
our  lines  were  treated  as  contraband  property,  so  as  not  to  be 
restored  to  their  masters.  On  September  22d,  1862,  President 
Lincoln  issued  his  first  proclamation  of  emancipation,  which  was, 
in  effect,  a  threat  to  the  States  then  in  rebellion  that  they  would 
lose  their  slaves  unless  they  returned  to  the  Union.  He  declared 
that  on  January  1st  following  all  persons  held  as  slaves  in  any 
State  which  should  be  then  in  rebellion  should  be  then  and  for- 
ever after  free.  On  January  1st,  1863,  no  rebel  State  having 
returned  to  the  Union,  he  issued  his  second  proclamation,  des- 
ignating the  States  and  parts  of  States  in  rebellion,  and  order- 
ing and  declaring  tha.t  all  persons  held  as  slaves  in  such  regions 
u  are  and  shall  be  free,"  and  pledging  the  Government  to  main- 
tain their  freedom.  "  On  this  measure.''  said  Lincoln,  "I  in- 


50         HISTORY  OF  TUB  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

voke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious 
favor  of  God."  This  celebrated  proclamation  professed  to  be  a 
war  measure,  adopted  by  authority  of  the  President  as  the  coin- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy. 

The  Thirteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  prohibiting 
slavery  in  the  United  States  passed  the  Senate  in  Apiil,  1864, 
and  the  House  in  January,  1865,  but  was  not  ratified  by  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  States  to  make  it  va'id  until  nearly  a  year  after 
the  end  of  the  war.  It  was  essentially  a  Republican  measure,  all 
of  the  Republicans  in  Congress  voting  for  it,  and  nearly  all  of 
the  Democrats  voting  against  it.  It  will  stand  for  all  time  as 
the  noblest  of  the  many  monuments  which  mark  tho  brilliant 
history  of  the  Republican  party.  Public  sentiment  was  slow 
to  take' shape  in  favor  of  the  total  abolition  of  the  curse  of  slav- 
ery, but  its  progress  was  certain,  and  when  the  amendment  Avas 
ratified  it  was  approved  by  the  entire  Republican  party.  For 
some  time  afterward  the  Democratic  party  continued  to  de- 
nounce the  Thirteenth  Amendment,  declaring  it  void  and  of  no 
effect,  but  long  ago  even  the  most  bigoted  and  stubborn  Demo- 
crats came  to  acquiesce  not  only  to  its  validity  but  in  its 
justice  and  wisdom. 

CHAPTER  XVH. 

THE   PRESIDENTIAL   CAMPAIGN  OF    1864. 

ANXIOUS  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  all  men  who  favored  the 
prosecution  of  the  war,  the  Republicans,  in  1864.  called  a  Union 
National  Convention  to  meet  in  Baltimore.  The  convention 
renominated  Abraham  Lincoln  for  President,  and  nominated 
Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  for  Vice-President.  The  nomi- 
nation of  Lincoln  was  by  acclamation,  but  there  were  a  number 
of  candidates  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  prominent  among  whom 
were  Hannibal  Hamliu  and  Daniel  S.  Dickinson.  Prior  to  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          51 

Baltimore  Convention  a  small  number  of  Republicans,  dissatis- 
fied .with  the  administration,  and  especially  -with  its  leniency 
toward  rebels,  met  at  Cleveland  and  nominated  John  C.  Fre- 
mont for  President,  and  John  Cochrane  for  Vice-President. 
Tiieir  convention  demanded  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion 
without  compromise,  and  the  confiscation  of  the  lands  of  the 
rebels,  and  their  distribution  among  soldiers  and  actual  settlers. 
General  Fremont  accepted  the  nomination  but  repudiated  the 
confiscation  plank  of  the  platform.  Subsequently  both  the  can- 
didates withdrewffrom  the  field,  and  the  whole  movement  ecl- 
ipsed. The  Democrats  held  their  convention  in  Chicago,  and 
manifested  open  hostility  to  the  continuance  of  the  war.  Bit- 
ter speeches  were  made,  denouncing  the  administration.  A 
platform  was  adopted  declaring  the  war  a  failure,  and  attack- 
ing those  who  carried  it  on  for  disregarding  the  Constitution, 
treading  upon  public  liberty,  perverting  right,  and  impairing 
justice,  humanity,  and  material  prosperity.  The  convention 
nominated  for  President  General  George  B.  McClellan,  whose 
half-hearted,  dilatory  course  while  in  command  of  the  army  of 
the  Potomac  was  largely  responsible  for  whatever  failure  had 
characterized  the  war  up  to  that  time.  George  H.  Pendleton. 
of  Ohio,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President.  The  platform 
crippled  the  Democratic  party  in  the  canvass,  for  scarcely  had  it 
been  published  when  news  came  that  Sherman  had  taken 
Atlanta,  and  that  Farragut  had  carried  the  defences  of  Mubile. 
In  the  face  of  such  victories  as  these  the  declaration  that  the 
war  was  a  failure  sounded  absurd  and  treasonable. 

In  the  canvass  of  18G4  the  Democrats  attacked  the  admiin'p. 
tration  for  exceeding  its  constitutional  powers  in  suspending  the 
habeas  corpus  and  imprisoning  rebel  sympathizers  and  agents 
in  the  North  without  trial.  They  did  not  openly  a^ovv  their 
old  theory,  that  the  States  could  not  be  coerced;  but  they  had 
a  great  deal  to  say  about  the  "  bloody  and  endless  war,  brought 
on  by  the  anti-slavery  agitators  in  the  North."  They  denounced 


52          HISTORY  OF  THE  REP UBLIVAN  PARTY. 

the  emancipation  proclamation  and  appealed  to  the  prejudice 
against  the  negroes,  still  very  strong  in  the  North,  by  asserting 
that  the  war  was  an  abolition  war,  carried  on  not  to  restore  the 
Union  but  to  free  the  slaves.  The  Republicans  had  practically 
but  one  argument  to  make,  and  that  was,  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  every  patriot  to  sustain  the  Government  in  its  efforts  to  crush 
the  Rebellion  and  save  the  Union.  »The  result  of  the  election 
was  the  success  of  the  Republicans  by  very  large  majorities. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  the  electoral  vote  of  every  State  not  in  the 
rebellion,  except  Kentucky,  Delaware,  and  New  Jersey.  He 
received  212  electoral  votes  against  21  cast  for  McClellan.  His 
popular  vote  was  2,213,665  against  1,802,237.  The  success 
of  the  Republicans  in  this  critical  campaign  assured  the  ul- 
timate triumph  of  the  Union  arms  in  the  field,  confirmed  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves,  and  opened  the  way  to  the  termina- 
tion of  the  war.  Had  the  Democrats  prevailed,  there  is  little 
"  reason  to  doubt  that  the  war  would  have  ended  by  a  recognition 
of  the  independence  of  the  rebel  States. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

SECURING      THE      FRUITS     OF     THE      WAR — THE      STRUGGLE       WITI! 
ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

AFTER  the  Republican  party  had  carried  the  war  through  to 
a  successful  issue,  destroying  upon  the  battle-field  the  doctrine 
of  secession,  and  forcing  the  surrender  of  the  rebel  armies,  it 
was  called  upon  to  meet  a  new  and  very  grave  issue,  involving 
the  security  of  the  results  of  its  past  efforts. 

Lincoln  was  assassinated  in  April,  1865,  very  soon  after  his 
second  inauguration.  The  Vice-President,  Andrew  Johnson, 
became  President.  At  first  he  was  so  radical  and  violent  in 
his,  treatment  of  the  conquered  rebels  that  it  was  feared  that 


HISTOB T  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PA RTT.          53 

he  intended  to  depart  wholly  from  the  policy  of  kindly  firmness 
.followed  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  Before  many  months,  however,  he 
changed  his  attitude  completely,  and  undertook  to  defeat  the 
will  of  his  party  in  Congress  in  respedt  to  the  reorganization 
of  the  rebel  States.  He  had  been  bitterly  opposed  to  the  dom- 
inant element  of  the  South  all  his  life— coming  of  ignorant, 
poor  white  stock,  and  representing  in  his  early  career  the  antag- 
onism of  the  non-slaveholding  element  in  Tennessee  against  the 
slaveholders  ;  but  all  at  once,  when  trusted  with  the  reins  of 
government,  he  manifested  a  stubborn  purpose  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  the  leading  Southern  men  and  to  give  them  control  of 
their  local  affairs. 

The  problem  of  restoring  the  Southern  States  to  their  rela- 
tions to  the  Union  was  a  difficult  one,  and  the  Republicans  were 
not  at  first  wholly  agreed  as  to  its  proper  solution.  After  nearly 
two  years  of  consideration  of  the  question,  the  party,  however, 
came  with  substantial  unanimity  to  the  ground  that  the  rebel 
States  had  forfeited  their  rights  as  States  of  the  Union  by  the 
act  of  rebellion,  and  had  become  unorganized  communities,  held 
under  the  Constitution  by  conquest,  and  to  be  dealt  with  as 
Congress  might  see  fit.  Their  re-entry  into  the  Union  must,  it 
was  maintained,  be  under  such  conditions  as  Congress  should 
prescribe.  In  the  mean  time  they  were  kept  under  military 
government,  and  were  divided,  for  the  purpose,  into  mili- 
tary districts.  The  Democrats  held  that  so  soon  as  hostil- 
ities ceased  each  rebel  State  had  a  right  to  reorganize  its 
own  State  Government,  and  to  enter  into  all  of  the  privileges  of 
a  member  of  the  national  Union,  without  tiny  interference  or 
dictation  on  the  part  of  Congress.  This  was  the  theory  advo- 
cated by  Andrew  Johnson.  Its  purpose  was  to  reinstate  the 
white  men  of  the  South  in  full  control  of  their  local  govern- 
ments, leaving  them  to  deal  with  the  emancipated  negro  popu- 
lations as  they  saw  fit,  under  the  solitary  restraint  of  the  Thir- 
teenth Amendment. 


54          mSTOZT  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PAETT. 

After  having  emancipated  the  slaves,  the  Democrats  held  that 
Congress  had  nothing  more  to  do  with  them.  The  temporary 
governments  organized  by  the  -whites  in  several  of  the  Southern 
States  proceeded  to  pass  codes  of  black  laws,  -which  reduced 
the  negroes  to  a  condition  of  serfdom,  differing  practically  but 
very  little  from  the  old  condition  of  slavery.  President  Johnson 
did  not  avowedly  go  over  to  the  Democratic  party  :  he  kept  Mr. 
Seward  and  several  other  Republicans  in  his  Cabinet,  but  his 
policy  toward  the  South  was  essentially  a  Democratic  policy, 
and  was  sustained  by  very  few  people  in  Congress  or  the  coun- 
try except  the  Democrats.  A  small  body  of  office-holders  stood 
by  him  in  order  to  retain  their  places,  and  became  popularly 
known  as  "the  bread  and  butter  brigade."  In  1867,  the 
Republicans  passed  a  series  of  acts,  known  as  the  Reconstruction 
laws,  providing  for  the  establishment  of  new  State  governments 
in  the  South.  These  laws  allowed  every  man  to  vote,  black  or 
white,  except  such  as  had  previously  taken  an  oath  to  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  had  participated  in 
the  Rebellion.  This  limitation  disfranchised  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  the  active  and  influential  white  men.  President  John- 
son vetoed  the  Reconstruction  acts,  and  they  were  passed  over 
his  veto,  the  Republicans  having  at  that  time  and  throughout 
his  administration  a  two-thirds  majority  in  both  Houses. 

The  conduct  of  Johnson  created  a  good  deal  of  irritation  nnd 
bad  feeling.  He  was  regarded  as  a  traitor  to  the  Republican  pni  ty 
and  the  stubbornness  with  which  he  clung  to  his  idea  of  the 
rights  of  the  Southern  States  under  the  Constitution  was  gener- 
ally believed  among  the  Republicans  to  arise  from  a  settled  pur- 
pose on  his  part  to  betray  his  parly  and  to  destroy  the  substan- 
tial results  of  its  victory  over  the  Rebellion.  The  intense  dislike 
and  strong  suspicion  of  Johnson  which  animated  the  greater 
portion  cf  the  Republican  party  resulted  in  the  passage  of 
articles  of  impeachment  against  him,  on  the  22d  of  February, 
1868.  The  specifications  were  based  on  the  President's  illegal 


HISTORY  OP  TUB  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          55 

removal  of  Edwin  M.  Stanton  from  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
War,  his  expressions  in  party  speeches  of  contempt  of  Congress, 
and  his  hindrance  of  the  execution  of  some  of  its  acts.  The  trial 
began  in  the  Senate  on  March  23d,  and  lasted  nearly  two  months, 
attracting  the  closest  attention  of  the  whole  country.  Johnson 
was  acquitted  for  lack  of  a  two-thirds  majority  against  him, 
the  vote  on  the  several  articles  of  impeachment  standing, 
guilty  35,  not  guilty  19.  A  few  Republicans,  led  by  Mr.  Fessen- 
den,  of  Maine,  not  believing  him  guilty  of  an  offence  warrant- 
ing his  removal  from  office,  voted  with  the  Democrats  for  his 
acquittal.  The  general  effect  of  his  obstinate  resistance  to 
Congress  was  to  strengthen  the  Republican  party,  and  the  men 
that  deserted  its  ranks  to  follow  him  were  so  few  in  number 
that  they  were  scarcely  missed.  At  one  time  Johnson  appeared 
to  contemplate  the  formation  of  a,  new  party,  of  which  he  was 
to  be  the  leader  ;  but  he  ended,  after  his  terra  of  office  closed,  in 
joining  the  Democratic  party,  which  sent  him  to  the  Senate  from 
Tennessee. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted 
in  June,  1866,  by  Republican  votes  exclusively,  in  both  Houses 
of  Congress.  This  amendment  made  the  freed  negroes  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  States  in  which  they  lived,  and 
prohibited  any  State  frcm  abridging  or  limiting  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  citizens.  It  left  each  State  to  regulate  the 
right  of  voting,  but  if  a  State  excluded  any  of  its  citizens  on 
account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,  it  lost 
its  representative  and  electoral  strength  proportionately.  The 
amendment  also  provided  that  no  person  should  hold  office  in 
the  United  States  or  any  State  who,  not  having  taken  the  oath 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  had  joined 
in  the  Rebellion  ;  but  Congress  might  remove  this  disability  by 
a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  branch.  It  provided,  further,  that 
neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  should  assume  or  pay 
any  debt  accrued  in  the  aid  of  the  Rebellion,  or  from  any  of  tha 


•"»'•          HISTORY  <-)F  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

losses  from  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  The  Democratic 
party  vehemently  opposed  this  amendment,  and  it  was  not  fully 
ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  States  until  July,  1868. 
Long  after  its  ratification  the  Democrats  were  in  the  habit  of 
condemning  it  as  revolutionary,  unconstitutional,  null  and  void. 
Subsequent  experience  did  not  justify  all  of  its  provisions.  The 
section  creating  a  class  of  persons  under  disabilities  in  the 
South  was  after  a  time  deemed  unwise  by  a  large  majority  of 
the  Republicans,  and  was  greatly  modified  by  successive  am- 
nesty measures. 

In  1866,  the  Civil  Rights  act  was  passed,  providing  severe 
penalties  against  any  person  who  under  color  of  any  law  or 
ordinance  should  attempt  to  deprive  the  freedmen  of  equal 
rights  or  subject  them  to  any  penalty  or  prohibition  different 
from  those  to  which  the  whites  were  subjected.  This  act  as  well 
as  Amendment  XIV  was  vetoed  by  President  Johnson,  op- 
posed by  the  Democrats,  and  passed  by  the  Republicans  over 
that  veto  and  in  spite  of  that  opposition. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1868. 

THE  Presidential  campaign  of  1868  was  fought  upon  the  issues 
growing  out  of  the  Reconstruction  acts  of  Congress,  the  Amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution,  and  the  suffrage  and  citizenship  the} 
conferred  upon  the  colored  race.  The  Republican  National 
Convention  met  in  Chicago,  May  20th,  and  nominated  General 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  for  President  by  acclamation.  A  sharp  con- 
test took  place  over  the  Vice-Presidency.  The  first  ballot  re- 
sulted as  follows  :  Schuyler  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  115  ;  Benjamin 
F.  Wade,  of  Ohio,  147  ;  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  of  New  York,  120  ; 
Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  119':  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  of 


HKTOR  T  OF  THE  KEF  FBLTCA JT  PA  K  TY.          5? 

;;sylvania,  51  ;  Hannibal  Hamlin.  of  Maine.  28  ;  James  M. 
Speed,  of  Kentucky,  22  :  James  Harlan,  of  Iowa,  16  ;  J.  A.  J. 
(Jreswell,  of  Maryland,  14  ;  W.  D.  Kelley.  of  Pennsylvania,  4  ; 
S.  C.  Pomeroy,  of  Kansas,  6.  On  the  fifth  ballot  Schuyler 
Colfax  was  nominated,  receiving  541  votes.  The  chief  feature* 
of  the  platform  were  the  indorsements  of  the  constitution;! ! 
amendments  securing  the  political  and  civil  equality  of  the 
blacks  and  of  the  Reconstruction  acts  of  Congress. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  met  in  New  York,  July 
tth,  and  nominated  Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York,  for  Presi- 
dent, and  Francis  P.  Blair,  of  Missouri,  for  Vice-President. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  liberalize  the  party  and  induce  it  to 
cease  its  opposition  to  the  results  of  the  war.  by  the  nomina- 
tion of  Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio,  who  stood  a  little  aloof 
from  the  Republican  party  and  held  rather  a  neutral  attitude. 
It  was  unsuccessful.  Moderate  ideas  prevailed,  however,  in  the 
platform,  which  was  cautiously  worded  so  as  not  to  offend  a 
considerable  number  of  Democrats  who  were  in  favor  of  what 
was  called  "  accepting  the  situation."  Among  the  candidates 
for  the  Presidency  before  the  convention  was  General  W.  S. 
Hancock,  who  received  a  large  vote  from  men  who  desired  to 
make  use  of  his  military  reputation  as  an  offset  to  that  of  Gen- 
eral Grant.  The  majority  of  the  convention  were  not  willing, 
however,  to  nominate  any  man  whose  record  of  hostility  to  all 
of  the  Republican  measures  during  the  last  ten  years  was  in  any 
way  doubtful.  The  Democratic  campaign  was  so  bad  a  failure 
that  before  it  closed  the  leading  Democratic  newspaper  organ  de- 
manded a  change  in  the  ticket  as  the  only  way  of  securing  the 
possibility  of  success.  General  Grant  was  elected  by  a  popular 
vote  of  3,012,833  against  2,703,249.  He  carried  all  the  States 
except  Delaware,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  and  Oregon.  Three  States — Virginia,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Texas — had  not  gone  through  with  the  process  of  re- 
construction and  therefore  had  no  vote.  Of  the  electoral  votes 


58          BISTORT  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Grant  received  214,  and  Seymour  80.  After  this  overwhelming 
defeat  a  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  accepting  the  results  of 
the  war  and  ceasing  the  hopeless  contest  against  the  inevitable 
took  possession  of  the  Democratic  Party.  The  election  was 
exceedingly  important  in  its  influence  upon  the  history  of  the 
country.  Had  the  Republicans  been  defeated  the  whole  policy 
of  equal  suffrage  and  citizenship  would  probably  have  been 
overturned.  That  policy  was  completed  and  firmly  secured  a  year 
later  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which 
provided  that  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  should 
abridge  the  right  of  any  citizen  to  vote  on  account  of  race, 
color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  The  ratification  of 
this  amendment  by  the  requisite  number  of  States  was  pro- 
claimed March  20th,  1870. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

OF  THE  SOUTH — CARPET-BAG-GOVERNMBXT — THE 
E.U-KLUX  KLAN  CONSPIRACY. 

ENCOURAGED  by  President  Johnson's  opposition  to  the  Recon- 
struction acts  to  believe  that  they  would  in  the  end  be  set 
aside,  the  white  people  of  the  States  which  had  joined  the  Re- 
bellion very  generally  refrained  from  taking  part  in  the  elec- 
tions under  these  acts,  and  thus  the  newly  enfranchised  negroes 
became  suddenly  possessed  of  almost  unlimited  political  power. 
With  them  acted  a  few  respectable  white  natives  who  had 
conscientiously  opposed  the  war,  a  few  enterprising  Northern 
emigrants  who  went  South  to  invest  their  means  and  better 
their  fortunes,  and  a  few  adventurers  attracted  by  the  prospect 
of  office.  This  was  a  poor  foundation  on  which  to  rear  a  stable 
structure  of  local  government.  The  mass  of  the  white  population 
looked  upon  the  negroes  as  they  would  upon  so  many  cattle  or 
horses  which  they  had  been  robbed  of  by  the  National  Govern- 


OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          59 

ment,*and  regarded  them  in  their  quality  of  voters  and  citizens 
•with  undisguised  hat  rod  and  contempt.  The  State  Governments 
established  under  the  new  order  of  things  were  the  subject  of 
constant  insult  in  the  Southern  papers,  and  were  despised 
and  detested  by  the  great  mass  of  the  native  tax-paying  people. 
The  poor  whites  were  fully  as  hostile  as  the  better  classes. 
To  some  extent  the  new  governm2nts  meiited  the  condemna- 
tion they  received.  Most  of  them  were  ignorant  and  rapacious, 
borrowing  and  wasting  large  sums  of  money,  raising  heavy 
taxes,  and  creating  numberless  scandals.  It  made  no  difference, 
fiowever,  what  was  the  character  of  the  men  connected  with 
these  governments— they  were  all  denounced  as  thieves.  North- 
ern white  men  who  had  settled  in  the  South,  whether  they  held 
office  or  not,  were  stigmatized  as  "carpet-baggers,"  and  every 
native  white  man  who  joined  the  Republican  Party  was  de- 
nounced as  a  "  scallawag,"  and  cut  off  from  all  social  relations 
with  his  neighbors.  The  carpet-bag  governments,  as  they  were 
called,  could  not  have  existed  for  a  moment  without  the  sup- 
port of  the  national  authority.  Troops  were  stationed  in  every 
capital  and  principal  city  through  the  South,  for  the  purpose 
of  awing  the  disaffected  people  and  compelling  obedience  to 
the  local  authorities.  Even  these  means  were  not  wholly  effec- 
tive, however.  A  secret  organization  sprang  up  as  if  by  magic 
in  all  parts  of  the  South,  whose  members  were  exclusively 
white  men,  hostile  to  the  new  order  of  things,  and  sworn  to 
accomplish  the  destruction  of  negro  rule.  This  organization 
was  called  the  Ku-Klux  Klan.  Its  ostensible  purpose  at  first 
was  to  keep  the  blacks  in  order  and  prevent  them  from  com- 
mitting small  depredations  upon  the  property  of  the  whites,  but 
its  real  motives  were  essentially  political.  The  members  met  in 
secret  conclaves,  and  rode  about  the  country  at  night  wearing 
long  gowns  of  black  or  scarlet  cloth,  with  hideous  masks  or  hoods 
enveloping  their  heads.  They  murdered  many  of  the  negro 
leaders,  and  in  pursuance  of  their  scheme  for  overawing  the 


60          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PART?. 

colored  population  took  the  poor  blacks  out  of  their  cabins  at 
night  and  brutally  tiogged  them.  In  some  neighborhoods 
scarcely  a  colored  raau  escaped  a  visitation  from  these  terrible 
midnight  riders.  The  negroes  were  invariably  required  to 
promise  not  to  vote  the  Republican  ticket,  and  threatened  with 
death  if  they  broke  their  promises.  In  some  places  the  Ku-Klux 
Klan  assaulted  Republican  officials  in  their  houses  or  offices  or 
upon  the  public  roads  ;  in  others  they  attacked  the  meetings  of 
negroes  and  dispersed  them.  Their  action  took  almost  every 
form  of  lawlessness,  and  was  adopted  with  the  single  purpose 
of  breaking  down  the  authority  of  the  Republican  State  and 
local  governments,  and  preparing  the  way  for  a  Democratic 
victory  at  the  elections.  The  Ku-Klux  Klan  order  and  its  vari- 
ations extended  throughout  the  entire  South.  In  some  localities  it 
was  called  by  other  names,  such  as  the  "  White  League,"  or  the 
"  Knights  of  the  White  Camellia,"  and  sometimes  its  members 
appeared  without  disguise  and  made  their  murderous  attacks 
upon  their  political  opponents  in  broad  daylight.  In  such  cases 
it  was  given  out  by  the  Southern  newspapers  that  a  riot  had 
occurred,  in  which  the  blacks  were  the  aggressors.  Wherever 
the  facts  were  obtained  by  the  investigations  of  committees  of 
Congress,  it  was  found  that  this  explanation  was  a  false  one, 
and  that  whites  were  always  the  attacking  party. 

The  Ku-Klux  Klan  were  particularly  active  in  the  Northern 
counties  of  South  Carolina,  and  these  counties  were  selected  by 
President  Grant  for  the  enforcement  of  an  act  of  Congress, 
passed  by  the  Republicans,  with  the  view  of  suppressing  these 
treasonable  and  murderous  organizations.  The  habeas  corpus 
was  suspended  by  Executive  order  in  the  five  counties  referred 
to,  a  considerable  body  of  troops  was  stationed  there,  and  large 
numbers  of  arrests  were  made  by  the  soldiers.  Nearly  three  hun- 
dred Ku-Klux  were  imprisoned  at  one  time  at  Yorkville,  South 
Carolina,  under  military  guard.  Their  disguises  and  other  articles 
were  captured,  an'rl  several  of  them  made  full  confession  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          81 

atrocities  in  which  they  had  been  engaged.  A  few  were 
selected  for  trial  and  were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment in  the  Albany  Penitentiary.  The  rest  were  released  on  their 
pledges  of  good  behavior.  The  result  of  these  severe  measures 
was  to  break  up  the  Ku-Klux  organizations  throughout  the 
South.  Hostility  to  negro  suffrage  and  Republican  govern- 
ment subsequently  took  other  forms  of  violence,  but  the  whip- 
ping and  killing  of  defenceless  people  by  masked  midnight 
riders  was  abandoned. 

The  Republicans  of  the  North  earnestly  sustained  the  meas- 
ures of  the  Government  for  the  punishment  of  conspiracy  and 
of  crime,  and  for  the  defense  of  the  rights  of  their  brethren  in 
the  South.  The  inefficiency  and  corruption  which  characterized 
most  of  the  Southern  State  governments  produced,  however, 
considerable  effect  upon  the  Northern  mind,  and  in  course  of 
time  a  large  portion  of  the  Northern  Republicans  grew  weary 
of  the  effort  to  sustain  those  governments  by  armed  force. 
Thus  there  came  to  be  a  division  in  the  party,  one  element 
believing  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  administration  to  continue  its 
policy  of  interference  in  Southern  affairs,  and  the  other  con- 
tending that  the  difficult  problem  of  good  government  and  equal 
rights  in  that  section  could  be  best  worked  out  by  the  Southern 
people  themselves,  without  any  outside  pressure.  The  stories  of 
Southern  outrages  grew  monotonous  and  wearisome.  Many 
people  doubted  their  authenticity,  because  from  their  own  ex- 
perience in  the  law-abiding  communities  of  the  North  they  could 
not  conceive  of  a  state  of  things  so  wholly  foreign  to  anything 
they  had  observed  at  home.  It  did  not  seem  reasonable  that  men 
should  be  guilty  of  such  barbarous  acts  as  were  done  in  the 
South  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  political  power.  All  reference 
to  those  acts  and  arguments  drawn  from  them  were  char- 
acterized, in  the  political  parlance  of  the  time,  as  "  waving  the 
bloody  shirt,"  and  lost  their  effect  upon  the  public  mind. 
Nevertheless  only  a  small  part  of  the  truth  concerning  the  state 


63          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 

of  affairs  in  the  South  between  1867  and  1876  was  ever  made 
known.  It  is  not  extravagant  to  assert  that  more  men  lost  their 
lives  during  that  period  for  the  sole  crime  of  being  Republicans 
than  fell  on  any  one  battle-field  of  the  war 

In  the  course  of  eight  years  of  President  Grant's  administra- 
tion the  white  Democrats  of  the  South  succeeded  in  getting 
possession  of  all  of  their  States  except  South  Carolina,  Florida, 
and  Louisiana — overcoming  the  Republican  majorities  by  a  sys- 
tem of  intimidation,  violence,  and  fraud.  The  three  remaining 
States  passed  into  their  hands  immediately  after  the  accession  of 
President  Hayes.  President  Grant's  policy  toward  the  South 
•was  not  uniform  and  consistent.  At  times  he  was  exceedingly 
firm  in  his  defense  of  the  so-called  carpet-bag  governments,  but 
at  other  times  he  was  yielding  or  indifferent,  and  allowed  the 
processes  for  the  destruction  of  those  governments  to  go  on 
without  interference.  Toward  the  close  of  his  official  career  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  unwise  to  longer  attempt  to 
support  by  Federal  bayonets  authority  which  was  obnoxious  to 
the  influential  and  intelligent  tax-paying  classes  of  the  South. 
In  this  conclusion  a  large  portion  of  the  Republicans  sympa- 
thized, but  their  opinion  did  not  in  the  least  modify  their  feel- 
ings of  condemnation  of  the  methods  by  which  the  Southern 
Democrats  had  overturned  the  Republican  State  governments  in 
that  section. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

DEFENDING  THE  NATIONAL  HONOK  AND  THE  PUBLIC  CREDIT, 

IT  is  now  time  to  refer  to  a  portion  of  the  career  of  the  Re- 
publican Party  which  reflected  great  houor  upon  it,  and  entitled 
it  anew  to  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  the  country.  At  ihc 
end  of  the  war  the  United  States  owed  an  enormous  bonded 
debt.  In  addition  it  had  outstanding  a  large  volume  of  paper 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          63 

currency,  issued  with  the  understanding  that  it  should  bo  re- 
deemed in  coin  as  soon  as  the  Government  was  able  to  do  so. 
In  1867,  after  the  floating  obligations  remaining  from  the  war 
had  been  gathered  in  and  funded,  the  question  of  how  to  deal 
with  the  debt  and  the  currency  was  taken  up  in  earnest  by  the 
Republicans  in  Congress.  Their  plans  met  with  vehement  op- 
position from  a  large  portion  of  the  Democratic  Party.  A  new 
and  preposterous  theory  was  advanced,  to  the  effect  that  the 
notes  of  the  Government,  called  greenbacks,  were  actual  money 
instead  of  promises  to  pay  money,  and  that  the  bonded  debt  of 
the  United  States  could  be  lawfully  and  honorably  discharged 
with  these  notes.  This  theory  started  in  the  West  and  was 
called  at  first  "  Pendletonism, "  from  the  fact  that  Pendleton, 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  Vice-President  in  1864,  was 
among  its  early  and  prominent  advocates.  It  was  claimed  by 
the  supporters  of  this  theory  that  as  greenbacks  were  real  money 
the  country  ought  to  have  a  large  supply  of  them.  They  fa- 
vored an  immediate  issue  of  hundreds  ard  even  thousands  of 
millions  of  dollars.  All  of  the  bonds  that  were  hot  specifically 
made  payable  in  coin  they  proposed  to  pay  off  at  once  in  green- 
backs, and  thus  stop  the  interest  upon  them.  The  paper  money 
idea  soon  developed  into  a  great  popular  mania  in,  the  West. 
Many  Republicans  were  carried  away  by  it,  but  the  majority  of 
the  party  firmly  resisted  it.  Not  much  headway  was  made  by 
this  dangerous  and  dishonest  heresy  cast  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  but  beyond  that  line,  clear  through  to  the  far  West, 
the  excitement  raged  for  several  years.  It  must  be  said,  in 
credit  of  the  Democrats  of  the  East,  that  they  gave  no  assistance 
to  the  greenback  idea.  As  a  party,  however,  the  Democrats 
may  truthfully  be  said  to  have  advocated  it,  since  the  great  bulk 
of  the  Democratic  representation  in  Congress  came  from  the 
West  and  the  South,  where  the  mania  was  widely  prevalent. 
However  much  praise  the  few  Democrats  who  opposed  the 
scheme  are  entitled  to,  it  is  certain  that  it  could  not  have  been 


64         HISTORY  OF  THE  REP UBLICAN  PARTY. 

defeated  had  not  the  Republican  Party  aa  a  national  organiza- 
tion set  its  face  firmly  against  it. 

Many  of  the  advocates  of  inflation  having  cut  loose  from  the 
principles  of  common  honesty  soon  became  repudationists,  and 
formed  a  party  by  themselves,  called  the  Greenback  party.  They 
proposed  to  pay  off  the  whole  of  the  debt  in, greenbacks,  and 
never  redeem  the  greenbacks,  but  let  them  wear  out  and  perish. 
They  even  went  so  far  as  to  pas's  resolutions  in  their  conven- 
tions declaring  that  all  taxation  should  cease  and  that  the  Gov- 
ernment should  support  itself  by  issuing  paper  money.  A  con- 
stant struggle  against  inflation  schemes  was  kept  up  by  the  Re- 
publicans in  Congress  for  more  than  a  decade,  and  was  only 
ended  by  the  successful  resumption  of  specie  payments  on  the 
first  of  January,  1879.  In  all  of  this  time  the  Republican  Party 
was  vigilant  and  firm  in  defending  the  national  honor,  and  pre- 
venting its  credit  from  suffering  by  the  repeated  assaults  upon 
it  which  came  from  the  Democratic  and  Greenback  Parties. 
The  party  which  saved  the  Union  and  abolished  slavery  was 
called  upon  to'save  the  credit  and  honor  of  the  country,  and 
prevent  its  currency  from  becoming  worthless,  and  it  nobly  re- 
sponded to  the  call. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE    LIBERAL    DEFECTION  AND    THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1872. 

CONSIDERABLE  dissatisfaction  was  felt  in  the  Republican 
Party  at  the  course  of  President  Grant's  administration.  A 
mall  element  of  conscientious  men,  many  of  whom  had  aided 
hi  forming  the  party,  believed  that  his  policy  toward  the  South 
•.vas  unwise,  and  that  it  was  time  to  inaugurate  an  era  of  peace, 
reconciliation,  and  good  feeling.  They  also  wanted  to  see  a 
policy  of  civil  service  reform  established,  by  which  merit  should 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          65 

Iv  the  test  for  public  office,  and  Government  officials  should 
*tick  to  their  legitimate  business,  and  not  devote  their  time  to 
managing  caucuses  and  conventions  in  the  interest  of  party 
M-iidcrs  who  had  secured  them  their  appointments. 

Grant's  project  for  annexing  San  Domingo  created  a  good 
deal  of  opposition,  and  many  of  his  appointments  to  office  were 
of  a  character  not  to  commend  themselves  to  the  public  judg- 
ment. An  open  breach  occurred  between  him  and  several  Re- 
publican leaders  in  Congress,  chief  among  whom  were  Senators 
Sumner,  Schurz,  and  Trumbull.  Long  and  acrimonious  debates 
over  the  San  Domingo  matter  and  a  sale  of  arms  to  the  French 
Government  served  to  widen  the  breach.  The  opponents  of 
General  Grant  believed  that  his  control  over  all  of  the  Federal 
office-holders  was  so  great  and  their  control  over  the  machinery 
of  the  conventions  was  so  perfect  that  his  renomination  would 
be  brought  about  in  spite  of  any  amount  of  antagonistic  feeling 
that  might  exist  in  the  party,  so  they  determined  to  make  a 
demonstration  which  would  show  to  the  country  that  they 
would  not  in  any  event  support  Grant  for  a  second  term.  They 
took  the  name  of  "  Liberal  Republicans,"  and  held  a  National 
Convention  in  Cincinnati,  in  May,  1872.  Once  assembled  they 
were  surprised  at  their  own  apparent  strength  and  at  the  num- 
ber of  old-time  Republicans  who  came  to  co-operate  with  them. 
The  plan  of  the  leaders  of  the  movement  was  to  nominate 
Charles  Francis  Adams  for  President.  Some  of  them  believed 
that  so  excellent  and  fit  a  nomination  would  so  commend  itself 
:o  the  whole  Republican  Party  that  General  Grant  would  be 
dropped.  Adams  failed  of  a  majority  on  the  first  ballot,  and 
the  convention  was  stampeded  by  a  movement  in  behalf  of 
Horace  Greeley,  who  received  the  nomination  on  the  sixth 
ballot,  having  482  votes  to  187  for  David  Davis,  of  Illinois. 
Governor  B.  Gratz  Brown,  of  Missouri,  was  named  for  Vice- 
Pi  'osideat  on  the  second  ballot.  The  regular  Republicans  paid 
no  attention  to  these  nominations.*  They  stigmatized  the  move- 


Cfi          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

tnent  as  one  of  soreheads  and  bolters,  and  in  their  own  con- 
vention, held  in  Philadelphia  in  June,  nominated  President 
Grant  for  re-election  by  acclamation.  A  brisk  contest  over  the 
Vice-Presidency  occurred  between  Schuyler  Colfax,  the  incum- 
bent of  the  office,  and  Henry  Wilson,  a  Senator  from  Massachu- 
setts, in  which  Wilson  was  successful,  receiving  364-^  votes  to 
321^  for  Colfax.  The  platform  of  the  Liberal  Republicans  de- 
manded that  sectional  issues  should  be  buiied,  that  good-will 
should  be  cultivated,  between  sections,  that  the  constitutional 
amendments  in  all  the  settlements  of  the  war  should  be  re- 
garded as  finalities,  that  civil  service  reform  should  be  under- 
taken, and  that  specie  payments  should  be  immediately  restored. 
The  platform  of  the  regula/  Republicans  rehearsed  the  glorious 
history  of  the  Republican  Party  and  reaffirmed  its  well-known 
distinctive  principles  of  equal  political  and  civil  rights  and  a 
firm  maintenance  of  the  national  credit  and  honor. 

The  Democrats  found  themselves  in  a  painful  dilemma.  If 
they  nominated  a  ticket  of  their  own  there  was  not  the  slight- 
est chance  of  electing  it.  If  they  indorsed  the  Liberal  Repub- 
lican ticket  they  would  have  to  abandon  all  of  the  ideas  for 
which  they  had  been  contending  since  I860.  Their  convention 
met  at  Baltimore  in  July  and  chose  the  latter  horn  of  the 
dilemma.  In  spite  of  the  bald  inconsistency  of  the  proceeding, 
the  party  which  had  defended  slavery  and  opposed  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Rebellion  nominated  as  its  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent a  most  conspicuous  antagonist  of  slavery,  a  life-long  op- 
ponent of  the  South,  and  a  zealous  advocate  of  all  measures 
which  had  been  adopted  for  crushing  the  Rebellion  and  giving 
freedom  and  citizenship  to  the  blacks.  This  apparent  conver- 
sion of  a  great  party  and  this  acknowledgment  of  the  error  of 
its  ways  would  have  been  sublime  if  it  had  been  sincere,  but  the 
object  of  most  of  the  Democratic  leaders  was  only  to  obtain 
office  and  political  patronage.  Horace  Greeley  made  no  pledges 
to  them,  and  he  avowed  potth^e  slightest  alteration  in  his  opin- 


HISTORY  OF  THK  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          67 

ions  on  the  issues  of  the  time.  They  hoped,  however,  that  if 
they  succeeded  in  electing  him  a  sense  of  gratitude  would  in- 
duce him  to  give  them  place  and  power.  The  campaign  was  a 
very  animated  one  at  first,  but  after  the  Republicans  carried 
North  Carolina  in  August  and  Pennsylvania  in  October  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  Greeley  coalition  could  not  win,  and 
thenceforward  the  Democratic  aud  Liberal  canvass  lost  all 
vitality.  A  large  number  of  the  Republicans  left  their  party  to 
follow  their  old  anti-slavery  leader,  Horace  Greeley,  but  their 
votes  were  more  than  counterbalanced  by  those  of  Democrats 
who  refused  to  support  him.  This  class  had  a  candidate  of 
their  own  in  Charles  O'Conor,  who  was  nominated  by  a  conven- 
tion held  at  Louisville.  He  received  but  a  small  vote,  however. 
Mo-tf,  anti-Greeley  Democrats  contented  themselves  with  stay- 
ing at  home  on  election  day.  Some  of  them  voted  for  Grant, 
to  show  iii  a  marked  manner  their  hostility  to  the  course  of 
their  party.  Grant  carried  all  the  States  except  Georgia, 
Kentucky,  Maryland,  Missouri,  Tennessee,  and  Texas.  His 
popular  vote  was  3,597,070.  The  vote  for  Greeley  was  2,834,- 
070.  O'Oonor  received  29,408  votes,  and  Black  5608.  Horace 
Greeley  died  before  the  electoral  colleges  met.  The  electoral 
vote  a.s  cast  by  the  colleges  was  as  follows  :  Grant,  286  ;  Hend- 
rieks,  42  ;  Brown,  18  ;  C.  J.  Jenkins,  2  ;  David  Davis,  1  ;  un- 
counted because  cast  for  Horace  Greeley,  17. 

The  Liberal  defection  seriously  weakened  the  Republican 
Party  in  the  State  campaigns  of  the  three  folio  wing  years,  but  in 
1876  the  breach  was  fully  healed,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  leaders  who  joined  the  Democrats  the  whole  body  of  Lib- 
erals returned  to  their  old  party  allegiance  in  the  Presidential 
campaign  of  that  year. 


68         HISTORY  OF  THE  HEP UBLICAN.  PARTY. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

PRESIDENT   GRANT'S   SECOND   ADMINISTRATION — CAMPAIGN 
OF  1876. 

REPUBLICAN  divisions  continued  to  a  considerable  extent 
during  the  second  administration  of  President  Grant.  The  dis- 
satisfied members  of  the  party  did  not,  however,  form  any  po- 
litical organization,  but  contented  themselves  with  holding 
themselves  aloof  from  the  State  campaigns.  Several  painful 
scandals  affecting  the  appointees  and  personal  friends  of  Presi- 
dent Grant  added  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  administration.  In 
1874,  the  feeling  of  distrust  and  dislike  culminated  and  resulted 
in  an  astonishing  series  of  Democratic  victories  at  the  State  and 
Congressional  elections.  A  large  number  of  Northern  States 
that  had  been  steadfastly  Republican  were  carried  by  the  Demo- 
crats. Even  Massachusetts,  which  had  given  heavy  Republican 
majorities  ever  since  the  party  was  formed,  elected  a  Democratic 
Governor.  In  short,  there  was  a  reaction  against  the  Republi- 
cans throughout  the  country  of  such  magnitude  and  importance 
that  many  would-be  prophets  predicted  the  speedy  death  of  the 
party,  asserting  that  its  mission  was  fulfilled,  its  work  done,  and 
its  career  closed.  The  Democrats  elected  a  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  and  thus  in 
the  following  year  came  into  possession  of  one  branch  of  Con- 
gress for  the  first  time  since  1860. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Republicans  who  had  deserted 
their  party  and  thus  helped  its  enemy  to  a  substantial  victory 
began  to  realize  that  they  had  made  a  grave  mistake.  They 
saw  that  to  trust  the  party  of  slavery  and  rebellion  with  the 
power  in  the  National  Government  was  to  run  the  risk  of  seri- 
ously compromising  the  results  of  the  war.  The  State  elections 
of  1875  showed  the  result  of  this  conviction,  for  must  of  the  old 
Republican  States  which  had  been  lost  in  1874  were  regained. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY          69 

An  exceedingly  thorough  and  brilliant  canvass  was  made  in 
Ohio  upon  the  financial  question.  The  Democrats  of  that  State 
fully  indorsed  what  was  known  as  the  soft-money  idea.  They 
opposed  the  act  for  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  passed 
by  Congress  in  January  of  that  year,  demanded  the  issue  of 
more  irredeemable  greenbacks,  and  asserted  that  the  interest  on 
the  public  debt  should  be  paid  in  paper  money,  and  some  of 
their  orators  and  newspapers  went  so  far  as  to  demand  the  pay- 
ment of  the  principal  of  the  debt  in  the  same  kind  of  currency. 
The  Democratic  nominee  for  Governor  was  William  Allen, 
popularly  known  as  "  old  Bill  Allen,"  who  already  held  the 
place  by  virtue  of  the  election  of  1873.  This  venerable  poli- 
tician personified  for  a  time  the  soft-money  delusion,  which  got 
the  name  of  "the  Ohio  idea,"  and  wns  commonly  ridiculed  by 
its  opponents  as  "  the  rag  baby."  The  Republican  candidate 
was  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  who  had  been  Governor  for  two 
terms,  from  1868  to  1872.  Taking  ground  in  favor  of  hon- 
est money  redeemable  in  coin  and  an  honest  payment  of  the 
national  debt,  the  Republicans  carried  the  State  by  a  small 
majority  and  turned  the  tide  of  inflation.  The  campaign  at- 
tracted national  attention  to  Mr.  Hayes,  and  made  him  the  can- 
didate of  his  State  for  the  Presidential  nomination  in  1876. 

The  Republicans  held  their  National  Convention  at  Cincin- 
nati on  June  14th,  1870.  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine,  was  the 
leading  candidate,  and  his  nomination  was  regarded  as  almost  a 
certainty  when  the  balloting  began.  The  other  prominent 
candidates  were  Oliver  P.  Morton,  cf  Indiana  ;  Roscoe  Conk- 
ling,  of  New  York  ;  Benjamin  F.  Bristow,  of  Kentucky,  and 
John  F.  Hartranft,  of  Pennsylvania.  Bristow's  power  came, 
as  a  rule,  from  the  clement  most  dissatisfied  with  President 
Grant's  administration.  Bristow  had  been  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, and  had  differed  with  the  President  about  the  prosecution 
of  certain  persons  in  the  West  concerned  in  the  frauds  on  the 
revenue.  A  personal  quarrel  arose,  and  Biistow  resigned  hi> 


70          HISTORY  OF  THE  XKPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

place  in  the  Cabinet.  The  supporters  of  Morton,  Conkling,  and 
Hartranft  were,  in  the  main,  warm  friends  of  the  administra- 
tion. Those  of  Mr.  Elaine  were  drawn  from  both  elements  by 
his  great  personal  popularity  and  his  reputation  as  a  Congres- 
sional leader.  A  combination  between  the  forces  of  Morton, 
Conkling,  Hartranft,  and  Hayes,  -and  a  portion  of  those  of  Bris- 
low  defeated  Elaine  and  nominated  Hayes  on  the  seventh  bal- 
lot, the  vote  standing,  Hayes,  384  ;  Elaine,  351  ;  Bristow,  81. 
V,  illiam  A.  Wheeler,  an  old  and  influential  representative  in 
Congress  from  the  State  of  New  York,  was  nominated  for  Vice- 
President  with  little  opposition.  Mr.  Hayes'  nomination  proved 
to  be  a  popular  and  fortunate  one.  He  had  an  excellent  mili- 
tary and  civil  record  and  no  personal  enemies,  and  he  united 
all  of  the  jarring  elements  of  the  Republican  organization. 

The  Democratic  Convention  met  in  St.  Louis  on  the  27th  of 
June,  and  on  the  second  ballot  nominated  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of 
New  York  for  President.  His  principal  competitors  were, 
Hendricks,  of  Indiana  ;  Allen,  of  Ohio,  and  General  Hancock, 
of  the  army.  Tilden  had  just  served  a  term  as  Governor  of 
New  York,  and  had  won  considerable  reputation  as  a  reformer 
by  his  hostility  to  the  canal  ring,  and  to  the  corrupt  Tammany 
organization  in  the  City  of  New  York.  The  Democrats  ran. 
their  canvass  almost  exclusively  on  what  they  called  the  reform 
line.  They  claimed  that  the  Republican  Party  had  grown  cor- 
rupt with  long  lease  of  power.  They  vigorously  attnnked  the 
administration  of  President  Grant,  made  the  most  of  all  the 
scandals,  true  or  false,  which  had  grown  out  of  it,  and  pre- 
sented their  candidate  as  a  man  who  would  sweep  the  public 
service  clean  of  all  abuses  as  with  a  new  broom. 

The  Republican  canvass  consisted  mainly  of  an  attack  on  the 
bad  record  of  the  Democratic  Party  and  a  cry  of  alarm  at  the 
solidity  of  the  section  of  the  country  late  in  rebellion.  A 
good  deal  was  nride  out  of  the  enormous  Southern  claims  pre- 
sented in  Congress  for  war  damages,  and  an  effective  attack  was 


TTIRTO RY  OF  THE  REP  UBL WA N  PART T.  7 1 

up  against  Mr.  Tildeu  on  account  of  his  failure  to  pay  a 
amount  of  money  due  from  him  to  the  Government  as  in- 
ome  tax,  and  also  on  account  of  his  sharp  financial  operations  in 
•  nnpction  with  certain  Western  railroads.  Three  insignificant 
mmor  organizations  placed  candidates  in  the  field  for  the  cam- 
paign of  1876.  The  Greenback  Party,  an  organization  of  fan- 
tastic theorists  and  small  demagogues,  took  up  the  so-called 
Ohio  idea,  which  the  Democrats  had  refused  to  indorse  in  their 
St.  Louis  platform,  and  endeavored  to  build  upon  it  a  great 
political  organization.  They  nominated  for  President  the  vener- 
able New  York  philanthropist,  Peter  Cooper,  and  for  Vice-Presi- 
<l*~-nt  Samuel  F.  Gary,  of  Ohio,  a  popular  orator  who  had  be- 
longed to  nearly  every  political  organization  which  had  existed 
in  his  life-time.  The  Prohibitionists  held  a  convention  in  Cleve- 
land and  nominated  for  President  Green  Clay  Smith,  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  for  Vice-President,  Gideon  T.  Stewart,  of  Ohio,  on 
a  platform  demanding  a  constitutional  amendment  prohibiting 
the  liquor  traffic.  A  mass  meeting  was  held  in  Pittsburg, 
which  attempted  to  start  a  new  organization  called  the  Ameri- 
can National  Party.  James  B.  Walker,  of  Illinois,  was  nomi- 
nated for  President,  and  Donald  Kirkpatrick,  of  New  York,  for 
Vice-President.  The  platform  favored  the  recognition  of  God 
and  the  Sabbath  in  the  Constitution,  demanded  prohibitory 
liquor  laws,  and  denounced  all  secret  societies.  The  movement 
proved  abortive,  and  nothing  was  heard  of  it  during  the 
canvass. 

The  campaign  of  1876  was  exceedingly  animated,  and  was 
closely  contested  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  except  the  Southern 
States,  where  the  Democrats  had  already  gained  control.  The 
popular  vote  was  follows  :  Tilden,  4,284,757  ;  Hayes,  4,033,- 
950  ;  Cooper,  81,740  ;  Smith,  9,522.  The  electoral  vote,  as 
finally  decided  by  a  commission  created  to  settle  the  dispute 
about  the  returns,  was,  Hayes,  185  ;  Tilden,  184. 


72          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 
CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE  CONTROVERSY  ABOUT  THE  ELECTORAIi  COUNT. 

BOTH  parties  claimed  to  have  carried  the  Presidential  election 
of  1876,  and  before  the  question  was  decided  the  country  was 
brought  uncomfortably  near  to  the  verge  of  civil  war.  The  result 
turned  upon  the  votes  of  South  Carolina,  Florida,  and  Louisi- 
ana, which  were  certified  by  the  State  authorities  to  have  btcn 
cast  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler.  In  each  of  those  States  Demo- 
cratic electors  claimed  to  have  been  elected,  and  sent  contesting 
returns  to  Washington.  Great  excitement  prevailed  through- 
out the  country.  Politicians  of  both  parties  hurried  to  the  dis- 
puted States  to  witness  the  counts  of  the  popular  vote  and 
supervise  the  action  of  the  rival  electoral  colleges.  In  South 
Carolina,  which  the  Republicans  had  previously  carried  by 
7najorities  averaging  30,000,  the  Democrats  organized  rifle 
clubs  during  the  campaign  to  systematically  intimidate  colored 
voters.  These  rifle  clubs  moved  about  the  country  fully  armed, 
and  uniformed  in  red  shirts,  broke  up  Republican  meetings,  and 
spread  terror  among  the  black  population.  The  whole  State  • 
seemed  like  an  armed  camp.  The  effect  produced  by  this  mili- 
tary organization  on  the  minds  of  the  timid  colored  people  was 
greatly  increased  by  the  Ellenton  and  Hamburg  massacres,  in 
which  a  large  number  of  negroes  were  killed.  An  account  of 
these  occurrences  would  be  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  this  work. 
It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  white  Democrats  were  the  aggres- 
sors and  the  colored  Republicans  the  victims,  and  that  the 
Republicans  were  convinced  that  both  of  the  affairs  grew  out 
of  the  purpose  of  the  Democrats  to  so  terrify  the  blacks  that  a 
large  proportion  of  them  would  be  afraid  to  vote.  As  first  re- 
turned there  appeared  to  bo  a  small  majority  for  Tilden  in  South 
Carolina.  The  board  of  canvassers  threw  out  the  votes  of  two 
counties,  acting  in  this  matter  by  the  plain  authority  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  TUB:  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          73 

1  i\vs  of  the  State,  and  gave  certificates  to  the  Hayes  electors, 
lu  Florida  there  was  a  little  violence  and  a  good  deal  of  fraud, 
with  the  same  result  as  in  the  case  of  South  Carolina. 
hi  Louisiana  the  Republicans,  judging  from  elections  of  previ- 
ous years,  had  a  large  and  certain  majority.  The  Democrats 
selected  five  of  the  heaviest  of  the  Republican  parishes  for  a 
-  .pecies  of  campaigning  known  as  bulldozing.  It  was  practi 
>;;illy  the  South  Carolina  rifle  club  system,  \vhich,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  originated  in  Mississippi'  in  the  State  canvass  of 
1875,  and  was  currently  known  in  the  South  as  the  "  Mississippi 
plan."  In  Louisana,  however,  it  was  somewhat  modified  and 
combined  with  features  borrowed  from  the  old  Ku-Klux  Elan. 
The  scheme  of  the  Democrats  was  well  conceived,  for  if  they 
could  by  their  acts  of  violence  overcome  the  Republican 
majorities  in  those  five  counties  they  could  carry  the  State. 
The  only  alternative  for  the  Republicans  who  controlled  the 
State  Government  would,  they  thought,  be  to  throw  out  the 
returns  of  the  five  counties  entirely,  and  in  that  event  the  Demo- 
crats would  also  win  the  election.  The  returning  board,  com- 
posed of  Republicans,  was  authorized  by  law  to  count  and  tabu- 
late the  votes  and  reject  those  from  the  precincts  where  the 
election  had  been  vitiated  by  fraud  or  violence,  and  by  this 
:iuthority  the  board  threw  out  the  five  bulldozed  parishes,  which 
left  the  Democrats  a  majority;  but  it  also  threw  out  a  num- 
'x'r  of  precincts  in  other  parishes,  so  that  the  Republicans  had  a 
majority  on  the  final  count.  The  action  of  the  board  was  purely 
legal,  but  it  was  violently  assailed  as  wicked  and  corrupt  by  the 
Democrats.  In  a  moral  point  of  view  the  defeat  of  the  Demo- 
cratic scheme  for  carrying  the  State  by  terrorizing  the  Republi- 
can voters  in  five  of  the  strongest  Republican  parishes  was 
certainly  justifiable. 

When  the  Democrats  saw  that  they  had  lost  South  Carolina, 
Florida,  and  Louisiana,  and  that  Hayes  would  have  a  majority 
of  one  in  the  electoral  count,  they  attempted  to  set  up  a  bogus 


74          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

electoral  college  in  Oregon.  Five  thousand  dollars  were  sent 
out  from  Ixew  York  to  pay  expenses,  and  more  money  was 
promised  if  the  plot  succeeded.  Governor  Grover,  a  Democrat, 
making  himself  the  judge  of  the  qualifications  of  the  Oregon 
electgrs,  decided  that  one  of  them  was  not  competent,  and  com- 
missioned the  defeated  Democratic  candidate,  named  Cronin, 
in  his  place.  Cronin  held  an  electoral  college  by  himself, 
appointed  two  other  Democrats  to  fill  vacancies,  and  sent  on  a 
pretended  return  to  Washington. 

The  Democrats  had  a  majority  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Republicans  in  the  Senate,  and  there  was  a  dead- 
lock for  a  time  over  the  question  of  the  powers  of  the  two 
Houses  concerning  the  electoral  count.  The  Democrats  held 
that  if  one  House  should  reject  a  return  it  could  not  be  count- 
ed, while  the  Republicans  took  the  ground  that  a  concurrence  of 
both  Houses  was  necessary  for  the  disfranchisement  of  a  State, 
or  the  rejection  of  any  part  of  its  vote.  It  was  also  maintained 
by  many  Republicans,  though  not  by  all,  that  the  President  of 
the  Senate  was. empowered  by  the  Constitution  to  count  the  re- 
turns, and  thai?  the  two  Houses  were  only  present  in  joint  con- 
vention as  official  witnesses.  This  opinion  had  the  support  of 
the  authority  of  many,  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution,  and  it 
was  beyond  dispute  that  the  returns  of  all  the  early  Presidential 
elections  were  counted  in  this  way.  Fortunately,  a  com- 
promise was  reached  and  a  bill  was  passed,  providing  that  all 
returns  objected  to  by  either  House  should  be  referred  to  a 
commission  composed  of  five  Senators,  five  Representatives, 
and  five  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  that  the  decisions 
of  the  commission  should  stand  unless  overturned  by  the  con- 
current vote  of  both  Houses.  With  few  exceptions  the  leading 
men  of  both  parties  united  in  this  compromise.  It  was  consid- 
ered a  patriotic  thing  to  allay  public  excitement  and  avoid  the 
growing  danger  of  civil  war  by  submitting  the  whole  contro- 
versy to  a  judicial  settlement.  In  the  organization  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  TEE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          75 

tribunal  the  representatives  from  the  two  Houses  of  Congress 
were  evenly  divided  between  the  two  parties.  Two  of  the 
Supreme  Court  Justices  selected  had  Republican  antecedents 
and  two  Democratic,  and  the  choice  of  the  fifth  justice  was  left 
to  these  four.  The  Democrats  supposed  that  their  choice  would 
fall  upon  Justice  Davis  of  Illinois,  but  Davis  was  elected  to  the 
Senate  by  the.  Legislature  of  the  State,  and  having  thus  stepped 
down  from  the  bench  into  party  politics,  was  not  available. 
Justice  Bradley,  of  New  Jersey,  was  therefore  selected.  The 
questions  before  the  tribunal  were  argued  for  weeks  by  some  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  country.  On  divisions  the  vote 
invariably  stood  eight  to  seven,  the  eight  Republicans  voting 
together,  and  the  seven  Democrats  showing  equal  solidity.  The 
Republicans  took  the  ground  that  Congress  had  no  right  to  go 
back  of  the  regular  formal  returns  of  any  State,  to  take  up 
questions  concerning  frauds  in  elections  or  counts.  The  Demo- 
crats abandoned  for  a  time,  in  their  extreme  party  necessity, 
their  old  State  rights  doctrine,  and  contended  that  Congress 
could  set  aside  the  regular  returns  and  investigate  the  facts  on 
which  they  were  based.  The  adoption  of  this  theory  would 
have  resulted  in  making  Presidential  elections  useless,  because 
no  disputed  election  could  ever  be  settled  in  the  interval 
between  the  meetings  of  the  electoral  colleges  in  Decem- 
ber and  the  time  for  the  inauguration  of  the  new  President  on 
the  4th  of  March.  Eithei  party  could  prolong  an  investigation 
till  after  March  4th,  and  thus  enable  the  Senate  to  place  its 
presiding  officer  in  the  Presidential  chair. 

The  decisions  of  the  commission  made  Rutherford  B.  Haye? 
President  of  the  United  States,  giving  him  a  majority  of  onr 
electoral  vote  over  Samuel  J.  Tilden.     There  was  much  menac- 
ing talk  among  the  Democrats  for  a  time  about  inauguratir; 
Tilden  and  supporting  him  with  the  militia  of  the  States  havin 
Democratic  Governors.     The  House  of  Representatives  passed 
resolutions  declaring  Tilden  to  be  the  lawfully  elected  Presi- 


70          HIS  TOR  Y  OF  THE  R  KP  UBLIOA  N  PA  RTT. 

dent.  An  attempt  was  made  by  tlie  Democrats  of  that  body  to 
filibuster  so  as  to  consume  the  time  tiii  noon  on  the  4th  of 
March,  and  thus  prevent  the  completion  of  the  count.  This 
scheme  would  have  been  carried  out  had  it  not  been  for  the 
opposition  of  many  of  the  Southern  Democrats,  who  showed 
much  more  moderation  and  patriotism  at  this  juncture  than  did 
their  brethren  at  the  North.  The  count  was  completed  just  in 
time,  and  Hayes  was  duly  inaugurated  without  opposition.  For 
years  afterward,  however,  indeed  up  to  the  present  time,  it  has 
been  the  fashion  of  the  Democrats  to  denounce  the  Electoral 
Commission  for  which  their  own  party  leaders  were  as  much 
responsible  as  those  of  the  Republican  Party,  and  to  stigmatize 
Mr.  Hayes  as  a  fraudulent  President.  Mr.  Hayes's  title,  legally 
and  morally,  is  just  as  clear  as  that  of  any  President  who  ever 
occupied  the  White  House.  He  had  a  majority  of  the  elec- 
toral votes  legally  returned  and  legally  counted,  and  if  a  fair 
election  had  been  permitted  in  the  South  by  the  rifle  clubs  and 
bulldozing  organizations  he  would  have  had  a  large  majority  of 
the  popular  vote. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

PRESIDENT  HATES'  ADMINISTRATION — THE  SOUTHERN  QUESTION — 
CIVIL  SEKVICE  REFORM. 

PRESIDENT  GRANT  went  out  of  office  with  a  great  many  oppo- 
nents in  his  own  party,  and  a  great  many  devoted  friends.  His 
administration  failed  to  keep  the  Republican  Party  united,  but 
perhaps  it  was  too  strong  and  its  majorities  too  large  for  har- 
mony to  prevail.  It  seems  to  be  a  law  of  parties  that  when  one 
greatly  overtops  the  other  for  a  series  of  years  it  begins  to  crum- 
ble. If  it  has  the  binding  force  of  principle,  however,  the  disin- 
tegration only  throws  off  some  of  the  surface  material,  and 
ceases  when  it  is  brought  down  to  about  the  size  of  the  oppos- 


Hf STORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          77 

ing  party.  The  mistakes  President  Grant  made  in  regard  to 
persons  <md  policy  will  hardly  be  remembered  in  history,  and 
iu'cd  not  be  dwelt  ou  here.  Future  generations  will  think  ef 
only  two  things  in  connection  with  his  eight  years  in  the  White 
House,  and  both  will  be  regarded  as  bright  and  enduring  honors 
worthily  added  to  his  great  military  fame — that  he  held  the 
country  firmly  up  to  the  results  of  the  war,  and  that  he  stood 
like  a  rock  to  stem  the  current  of  the  paper-money  inflation 
mania.  To  the  title  of  victor  over  the  Rebellion  which  he  won 
at  Appomattox  may  truthfully  be  added  that  of  defender  of 
the  public  credit  and  protector  of  the  principle  of  equal  rights 
for  all  citizens. 

When  Mr.  Hayes  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  Presidential 
office,  rival  State  governments  existed  in  South  Carolina  and 
Louisiana.  The  Florida  imbroglio  had  been  settled  by  the 
action  of  the  State  Supreme  Court.  In  South  Carolina  the 
Republicans  claimed  to  have  elected  Governor  Chamberlain  by 
the  same  vote  which  chose  the  Presidential  electors.  The 
Democrats  claimed  that  Wade  Hampton  was  lawfully  elected. 
Each  party  had  inaugurated  its  Governor,  and  each  had  a 
Legislature  in  session— the  Republicans  in  the  State  House,  pro- 
tected by  a  force  of  United  States  troops,  the  Democrats  in  a 
building  hired  for  the  purpose.  After  a  delay  of  over  a 
month,  which  was  unfortunate  because  irritating  to  the  public 
mind  both  North  and  South,  the  President  ordered  the  troops 
to  withdraw  from  the  State  House,  and  the  Chamberlain  gov- 
ernment instantly  ceased  to  exist.  The  Hampton  government 
took  possession  of  the  State  House  without  opposition,  admit- 
ted a  portion  of  the  members  of  the  Republican  Legislature,  and, 
professing  an  intention  to  forget  the  past  and  to  treat  all  citi- 
zens fairly,  assumed  complete  control  of  the  State. 

In  Louisiana  the  condition  of  things  was  more  complicated 
than  in  South  Carolina.  The  Republicans,  under  Governor 
Packard,  had  a  complete  State  government  installed  in  the  State 


78          HISTOR  T  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PARTY. 

House  in  New  Orleans,  but  it  could  not  make  its  authority  re 
spectcd  in  the  State,  and  was  actually  a  close  prisoner  in  the 
Capitol  building.  The  Democrats,  under  Governor  Nicholls,  ran 
a  government  in  Odd  Fellows  Hall,  and  having  a  large  force  of 
well-disciplined  white  militia  at  their  command  were  nble  to 
enforce  their  authority.  With  their  troops  and  with  the  police 
of  New  Orleans  they  so  overawed  the  Republican  officials, 
legislators,  and  guards  that  they  did  not  venture  to  cross  an 
imaginary  line  drawn  through  the  middle  of  the  streets  sur- 
rounding the  State  House.  In  a  building  adjoining  the  State 
House  a  regiment  of  United  States  troops  was  quartered,  and  R 
passage  was  opened  between  the  two  structures  so  that  the 
soldiers  could  go  to  the  assistance  of  Governor  Packard  in  case 
of  an  attack.  Throughout  the  State  the  Democrats  had  dis- 
placed the  Republican  local  officials  chosen  at  the  fall  election, 
and  thus  controlled  the  judiciary  and  the  county  offices  in  all 
the  parishes  except  those  in  the  sugar- plan  ting  region,  where 
the  blacks  were  in  an  overwhelming  majority.  A  few  unprinci- 
pled colored  men  went  back  and  forth  between  the  two  Legis- 
latures, making  a  quorum  in  whatever  body  they  appeared. 
President  Hayes  sent  a  commission  to  New  Orleans  to  effect  a 
compromise  if  possible.  Its  members  were  Judge  Lawrence,  of 
Illinois.  General  Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  Wayne  McVeagh, 
of  Pennsylvania,  Judge  Harlan,  of  Kentucky,  and  ex-Gov- 
ernor Brown,  of  Tennessee.  It  was  finally  arranged  that  the 
Nicholls  government  should  be  allowed  to  go  on,  that  a 
Legislature  should  be  made  up  of  the  two  conflicting  organ- 
izations, that  the  troops  should  be  withdrawn  from  protecting 
Packard,  and  that  no  prosecutions  for  political  reasons  should 
be  commenced  against  Republicans.  Governor  Packard  did 
not  assent  to  these  terms.  Seeing  that  he  could  not  sustain  him- 
self, he  abandoned  the  State  House,  and  the  Nicholls  govern- 
ment moved  in.  The  Democrats  soon  broke  faith  by  begin 
tiinsr  criminal  suits  against  members  of  the  Returning  Board  for 


HTSTOR  Y  OP  THE  HEP  VELIO  AN  PARTY.         79 

the  purpose,  as  was  generally  reported,  of  forcing  the  adminis- 
tration to  give  them  control  of  the  New  Oileans  Custom  House 
patronage.  The  State  Supreme  Court  finally  put  a  stop  to  these 
proceedings.  The  Senate  at  "Washington  admitted  Kellogg, 
the  Senator  chosen  by  the  Packard  Legislature,  thus  virtually 
recognizing  the  legality  of  the  Packard  government,  but  in  the 
case  of  South  Carolina  it  seated  Butler,  whom  the  Democratic 
Legislature  had  chosen,  while  still  in  a  fragmentary  and  illegal 
condition.  This  was  done  as  a  compromise,  but  two  years  later 
the  Democrats  sought  to  unseat  Kellogg,  and  were  only  pre- 
vented by  three  or  four  Southern  Senators  breaking  away  from 
the  party  caucus,  and  sustaining  Kellogg  on  the  ground  that 
his  case  was  res  adjudicata. 

President  Hayes'  action  in  the  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana 
affairs  gave  rise  to  severe  criticism  and  active  opposition  in  the 
Republican  Party.  A  portion  of  the  Republicans  calling  them- 
selves "  stalwarts"  insisted  that  the  titles  of  Chamberlain  and 
Packard  were  just  as  good  as  that  of  Mr.  Hayes,  and  should 
have  been  defended  with  the  whole  power  of  the  Government, 
if  necessary.  Another  clement  believed  that  the  experiment  of 
sustaining  Southern  governments  with  Federal  bayonets  had 
failed  to  prod\ice  order,  prosperity,  and  security  of  the  civil 
rights  of  the  negroes,  and  that  the  only  course  left  was  to 
let  the  Southern  States  alone  to  manage  their  own  affairs. 

Whatever  might  be  the  legal  and  moral  title  of  Packard  and 
Chamberlain,  this  latter  class  argued,  it  was  impolitic  to  sustain 
with  armed  force  authority  which  could  not  make  itself  re- 
spected. This  class  hoped  that  the  policy  of  non-interference 
would  soon  lead  to  the  division  of  the  Southern  whites,  to  the 
blotting  out  of  the  color  line  in  Southern  politics,  and  to  the 
growth  of  a  new  Republican  organization,  composed  of  both 
whites  and  blacks.  They  were  encouraged  in  this  belief  by 
the  statements  of  many  prominent  Southern  men,  who  said, 
"  Give  us  home  rule,  and  the  feeling  of  intolerance  toward  tho 


80          HISTORY  OF  THE  HEPUBLICAN  PAET7. 

Republican  Party  will  cease."  Thus  far  the  hope  of  a  division 
iu  the  "  solid  South"  has  not  been  verified.  Opposition  to  the 
Democratic  Party  in  that  section  is  still  regarded  as  iu  some 
sort  treason  to  the  interests  of  the  South,  us  though  ilu-  South 
were  not  a  component  part  of  the  United  States,  but  -a  political 
entity  separate  and  apart.  In  most  of  the  Southern  States  no 
opposition  is  made  to  the  negroes  voting  as  they  please,  but  the 
counting  and  return  of  the  votes  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Demo- 
cratic officials,  and  public  opinion,  so  far  as  it  is  shaped  by  the 
respectable  white  classes,  justifies  any  fraud  that  is  necessary 
to  wipe  out  Republican  majorities.  In  Louisiana,  in  1878,  un- 
provoked and  brutal  massacres  of  negroes  took  place  in  three 
parishes,  with  the  evident  purpose  of  preventing  the  Republi- 
cans from  carrying  the  election. 

Besides  the  Southern  question,  there  came  up  another  issue 
upon  which  Republicans  disagreed.  An  agitation  began 
during  President  Grant's  administration  for  a  reform  in  the 
civil  service.  Grant  yielded  to  it  so  far  as  to  create  a  comis- 
sion  which  prescribed  rules  for  the  examination  of  candidates 
for  office.  The  movement  went  beyond  this  and  demanded  that 
appointments  should  not  be  made  as  a  reward  for  party  service  ; 
that  the  public  offices  should  not  be  dispensed  by  Senators  and 
Congressmen  to  their  followers  and  favorites,  and  that  public 
officials  should  not  employ  their  time  in  managing  caucuses 
and  conventions,  and  in  working  for  the  success  of  candidates. 
The  Cincinnati  platform  promised  this  sort  of  reform,  and  Presi- 
dent Hayes  believed  in  it.  He  attempted  to  carry  it  out  by  dis- 
regarding, when  he  saw  fit,  the  recommendations  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  concerning  appointments  and  removals  iu 
their  States  or  districts,  and  by  issuing  an  order  commanding 
office-holders  to  refrain  from  taking  part  in  caucuses,  conven- 
tions, and  other  forms  of  party  work.  On  the  one  side  it  was 
held  that  this  policy  weakened  the  party  organization  and 
deprived  the  officials  of  their  rights  us  citizens  to  take  an  active 


HISTORY  OF  TEE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          81 

part  in  politics  ;  on  the  other  it  was  maintained  that  the  policy 
was  a  good  one,  tending  to  elevate  politics  and  to  release  the 
party  from  the  rule  of  cliques  of  office-holders,  who  organized 
"  machines"  to  override  the  will  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
voters. 

These  dissensions  so  weakened  the  party  that  in  1877  it 
lost  several  of  the  States  it  had  carried  in  1876.  Time  and 
good  sense  have  healed  them  in  a  large  measure,  however. 
The  order  to  office-holders  is  not  enforced  ;  and  the  ad 
ministration,  while  preserving  a  proper  degree  of  indepen- 
dence for  the  appointing  power,  gives  due  weight  to  the 
recommendations  of  the  people's  representatives  in  Congress. 
The  Kepublican  Party  recovered  its  compactness  in  1878, .  in 
the  defense  of  the  Specie  Payment  Act  against  the  assaults  of 
the  Democrats.  It  was  powerfully  aided,  too,  by  an  exposure 
made  by  the  Neio  York  Tribune  of  a  secret  correspondence  in 
cipher,  carried  on  during  the  winter  of  1876-7  between  Mr. 
Tilden's  nephew  Pelton  and  other  confidential  friends  in  New 
York  and  certain  agents  sent  out  to  capture  the  electoral  votes  of 
the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Oregon. 
The  employment  of  corrupt  means  to  bribe  electors  or  return- 
ing authorities  in  those  States  was  plainly  shown  by  those  dis- 
patches. The  disposition  of  some  Republicans  to  think  Mr. 
Tilden  might  possibly  have  been  fairly  elected  and  unjustly 
kept  out  of  the  Presidency  vanished  when  the  means  adopted 
by  his  close  friends  to  secure  him  the  office  were  thus  exposed. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  RESUMPTION    OF    SPECIE    PAYMENTS — THE    ELECTION   LAWS — 
DEMOCRATIC    ATTEMPT    TO    COERCE    THE    EXECUTIVE. 

THE  act  of  1875  providing  for  a  return  to  specie  payments  on 
the  first  of  January,  1879.  was  a  Republican  measure,  and  for 


82         HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

four  years  was  defended  by  the  Republicans  against  the  attacks 
of  the  Democrats.  A  few  Western  Republicans  joined  in  these 
attacks,  and  a  few  Eastern  Democrats  helped  repulse  them  ;  but 
the  great  mass  of  one  party  favored  the  redemption  of  the 
greenback  notes  in  coin,  and  the  great  mass  of  the  other  wanted 
the  law  repealed.  Many  Democrats  embraced  the  notion  of 
''fiat  money,"  asserting  that  the  government  by  its  fiat  can 
make  absolute  money  out  of  paper  or  any  other  valueless  material. 
Gold  and  silver  money  was  a  relic  of  barbarism,  they  declared, 
to  use  valuable  metals  for  currency  when  paper,  which  cost  next 
to  nothing,  would  answer  the  purpose  much  better,  being  waste- 
ful and  foolish.  These  deluded  people  wanted  all  the  green- 
backs and  the  national  bank  notes  retired  and  replaced  by  a 
new  kind  of  Government  notes,  bearing  no  promise  to  pay  on 
their  faces,  but  simply  declaring  themselves  to  be  money  of  dif- 
ferent denominations.  These  notes  were  to  be  issued  in  quan- 
tities sufficient  "  to  meet  the  wants  of  trade,"  and  were  never 
to  be  redeemed. 

As  the  time  fixed  for  resumption  drew  near,  the  clamor  against 
the  law  increased.  Every  business  failure  was  ascribed  by 
the  Democratic  press  in  the  West  and  South  to  the  effect  of  the 
act,  and  the  speedy  ruin  of  the  business  of  the  country  was  pre- 
dicted. John  Sherman,  who  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  made 
careful  preparation  for  resumption,  and  opposed  any  postpone- 
ment of  the  date,  was  a  special  target  for  criticism  and  abuse. 
Specie  payments  were  resumed  on  the  day  appointed  by  law, 
>•.  liiiout  the  slightest  shock  or  disturbance  to  business  interests, 
industrial  and  commercial  prosperity  began  to  return  to  the 
country  shortly  afterward,  and  now  the  wisdom  of  the  Re- 
sumption Act  is  acknowledged  by  every  one.  Even  the  fanati- 
cal paper-money  doctrinaires,  who  formed  a  party  by  themselves, 
because  the  Democrats  did  not  go  far  enough  in  the  direction 
of  repudiation  and  inflation  to  satisfy  them,  have  ceased  to 
demand  in  their  platforms  the  repeal  of  the  law.  lake  the 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PARTY.         83 

former  inflationists  in  the  Democratic  Party,  they  have  come 
down  to  a  demand  for  the  retirement  of  bank-notes  and  the 
substitution  of  greenbacks  for  them. 

In  the  Congress  which  closed  March  4th,  1879,  the  Demo- 
crats controlled  the  House  and  the  Republicans  the  Senate. 
The  Democrats  sought  to  accomplish  the  repeal  of  the  Federal 
election  laws  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  both  the  Senate  and 
the  President.  These  laws  were  passed  in  1870,  after  an  inves- 
tigation of  the  gigantic  frauds  perpetrated  in  the  City  of  New 
York  at  the  election  of  1868.  They  were  always  objectionable 
to  the  Democrats,  theoretically  because  they  conflicted  with 
their  traditional  views  about  State  rights,  and  practically  because 
they  prevented  the  repetition  of  the  frauds  of  1868  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Democratic  Party.  The  Republicans  defended 
the  laws  because  of  their  demonstrated  utility  in  securing  fair 
elections,  and  because  they  were  based  on  the  sound  constitu- 
tional principle  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  regulate  elections 
that  are  national  in  their  character.  The  Democrats  tacked 
a  section  repealing  the  election  laws  upon  a  general  appropria- 
tion bill.  They  also  placed  on  the  Army  Appropriate  Bill  a 
section  prohibiting  the  use  of  troops  at  elections  to  keep  the 
peace  or  suppress  riots.  Rather  than  abandon  these  "riders" 
they  let  the  bills  fail,  and  forced  an  extra  session  of  Congress. 

In  the  new  Congress  the  Democrats  controlled  both  Houses, 
and  had  only  the  President  to  grapple  with.  Mr.  Hayes  re- 
solved to  defend  the  election  laws  with  his  veto  power.  As  for 
the  matter  of  troops  at  the  polls,  he  exposed  the  issue  as  a 
fictitious  one,  showing  that  there  were  already  ample  provisions 
of  law  forbidding  the  use  of  troops  for  political  purposes.  He 
refused  to  abandon  for  the  Executive  the  light  to  enforce  obedi- 
ence to  law,  with  the  military  arm  if  necessary,  at  places  where 
elections  were  held,  as  well  as  elsewhere.  So  the  issue  was 
joined.  The  Democrats  threatened  to  break  down  the  Govern- 
ment by  leaving  it  without  means  to  exist  if  the  President  did 


84          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

not  yield.  Mr.  Hayes  stood  firm,  and  answered  them  by  a  series 
of  vetoes  directed  against  their  measures,  which  maintained, 
by  arguments  of  remarkable  force  and  clearness,  the  supremacy 
of  the  nation  in  all  matters  of  national  concern,  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Executive  from  Congressional  dictation.  Baffled 
at  every  point  in  the  long  struggle,  the  Democrats  finally  yielded 
and  passed  all  the  appropriations  except  the  one  providing  for 
the  payment  of  the  United  States  marshals.  They  declared, 
however,  that  they  would  renew  the  contest  at  the  next  session, 
but  the  fall  elections  went  against  them,  and  they  did  not  re- 
sume hostilities  in  the  session  which  began  December,  1879. 
Only  a  remnant  of  the  controversy  was  preserved  in  a  proviso, 
which  they  put  upon  an  appropriation  bill  at  the  close  of  the 
session,  prohibiting  the  payment  of  deputy  marshals  for  services 
at  elections. 


CHAPTER    XX VH. 

THE    CAMPAIGN     OP    1880 NOMINATION    <>K    .IAMKS    A.    GAKFIELD. 

THE  idea  of  electing  Oenentl  Grunt  in  1880  for  a  third  term 
was  in  the  minds  of  many  proiuineur  Republicans  from  the  day 
he  left  the  Whit<-  Hon*e.  Most  of  these  men  had  favored  hi- 
nomination  in  1876,  but  considerable  feeling  arose  in  the  couu- 
.try  against  a  third  term,  and  to  a^siiie  the  people  that  the  party 
did  not  meditate  conferring  upon  Grant  greater  honors  then 
Washington  had  received,  several  Republican  State  Conven 
tions  passed  resolutions  in  1875  declaring  that  they  were 
opposed  to  the  election  of  any  President  for  more  than  two 
terms.  General  Grant  went  abroad  in  1877  and  spent  two  years 
in  foreign  travel,  making  the  circuit  of  the  globe  and  visiting 
nearly  all  the  great  nations  of  the  earth.  He  was  received, 
wherever  he  went,  with  honors  such  as  are  only  accorded  to 
reigning  monarch*.  Regarded  as  the  representative  of  the  great 


JJTSTOKY  OF  TITE  REPUBLICAN'  7\\JtTT.          85 

American  Republic  and  the  most  distinguished  of  living  mili- 
tary chieftains,  his  journey  was  a  succession  of  brilliant  official 
and  popular  demonstrations.  These  remarkable  honors  were  al- 
most as  flattering  to  his  countrymen  as  to  him,  and  served  to  keep 
his  name  and  fame  fresh  in  their  minds.  Before  he  returned 
to  the  United  States,  in  the  fall  of  1870,  it  was  plain  that  a 
strong  movement  would  be  made  to  secure  his  nomination. 
With  characteristic  reticence  he  neither  assented  nor  ob- 
jected to  this  movement,  but  remained  perfectly  passive.  Most 
of  the  politicians  who  had  held  positions  under  his  administra- 
tion naturally  desired  his  return  to  power,  and  there  was  be- 
sides a  considerable  body  of  Republicans  who  had  not  been 
office-holders  and  did  not  expect  to  be,  who  believed  he  would 
be  the  most  popular  candidate  the  party  could  nominate,  and 
urged  his  candidacy  on  the  ground  of  expediency.  His  most 
prominent  supporters  were  the  three  influential  Senators  from 
Xcsv  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Illinois — Conkling,  Cameron,  and 
Logan.  The  Southern  Republicans  were  almost  unanimous  in 
his  favor.  A  considerable  majority  of  the  Northern  Republi- 
cans opposed  his  nomination,  however,  because  they  believed  it 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  tradition  of  two  terms  only,  and  a 
step  toward  personal  government.  Besides,  they  thought  it 
would  furnish  the  Democrats  with  a  popular  issue — opposition  to 
a  third  term — on  which  the  Republicans  would  be  placed  in  the 
position  of  defending  an  innovation  upon  a  safe,  conservative, 
long- established  custom.  The  discussion  of  the  question  of 
nominating  Grant  began  in  earnest  in  December,  1879,  and 
lasted  without  intermission  until  the  National  Convention  met  at 
Chicago  on  the  10th  of  June  following.  Most  of  the  anti-tbird- 
tmn  men  supported  Senator  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  the 
most  popular  of  the  Republican  leaders.  A  considerable  num- 
ber favored  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  John  Sherman,  of 
Ohio,  making  his  excellent  record  as  a  Republican  and  hi? 
brilliant  success  in  the  resumption  of  speoio  payments  the 


86         HISTORY  OF  TEE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

ground  of  their  choice.  Senator  Geo.  F.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont, 
had  the  backing  of  his  own  State  and  of  Massachusetts  ;  Elihu 
B.  Washburne,  ex-minister  to  Paris,  had  a  small  "Western  fol- 
lowing, and  Senator  William  Windom,  of  Minnesota,  was  sup-  ( 
ported  by  that  State.  Neither  candidate  had  votes  enough  to 
nominate  him.  The  first  ballot  in  the  convention  stood  :  Grant, 
304  ;  Elaine,  284  ;  Sherman,  93  ;  Edmunds,  34  ;  Washburne, 
30  ;  Windom,  10.  On  the  second  ballot  one  vote  was  given  to 
Garfield,  and  on  most  of  the  subsequent  ballots,  during  the 
first  day's  voting  he  had  2.  The  above  figures  were  pretty  close- 
ly preserved  for  thirty-three  ballots.  The  Grant  men  could 
have  controlled  the  nomination  if  they  had  been  willing  to  drop 
their  candidate  and  take  up  a  new  man,  but  they  stuck  to  the 
ex-President  with  absolute  fidelity.  Both  the  Elaine  men  and 
the  Sherman  men  were  equally  devoted  to  their  leaders.  The 
dead-lock  was  finally  brought  to  an  end  by  the  Wisconsin  dele- 
gation voting  for  Garfield  on  the  34th  ballot,  against  his  pro- 
test. As  the  leader  of  the  Ohio  delegation,  Garfield  was  a  sup- 
porter of  Sherman,  and  he  objected  to  being  put  in  an  apparent 
attitude  of  willingness  to  abandon  the  Ohio  candidate.  On  the 
next  ballot,  however,  Indiana  followed  Ohio,  and  on  the  36th 
ballot  nearly  the  whole  body  of  anti-third  term  men  swunc 
into  line  for  Garfield,  giving  him  the  nomination  by  the  follow- 
ing vote :  Garfield,  399  ;  Grant,  306  ;  Elaine,  42  ;  Sherman. 
3  ;  Washburue,  5.  The  result  was  a  fortunate  one.  General 
Garfield  was  acceptable  to  all  the  elements  in  the  convention. 
and  the  whole  party  dropped  at  once  all  former  causes  of  differ 
ence  and  rushed  to  his  support.  Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New 
York,  an  earnest  Grant  man,  was  nominated  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency,  with  a  view  of  making  the  ticket  represent  both 
wings  of  the  party  lately  engaged  in  a  contest  over  the  question 
of  Grant's  candidacy.  The  vote  was — Arthur,  468  ;  Wash- 
burne. 193  ;  Jewell,  44  ;  Maynard,  30  ;  Bruce,  8.  General  Ar- 
thur's experience  as  chairman  of  the  New  York  Republican 


HISTOE  7  OF  THE  REP  UBL1CAN  PA  liTY.          87 

State  Committee  made  him  peculiarly  available,  and  his  prom- 
inence as  a  Grant  man  made  him  specially  acceptable  to  the  ele- 
ment which  had  before  controlled  Republican  politics  in  New 
York.  The  ticket  was  instantly  indorsed  by  the  entire  Repub- 
lican press  and  by  men  of  all  shades  of  Republican  opinion. 

By  a  happy  inspiration  the  convention  selected,  instead  of  the 
obscure  man  of  only  local  fame  who  usually  comes  out  of  such 
close  contests  with  the  nomination,  one  of  the  best  known, 
most  trusted,  and  ablest  of  the  national  leaders  of  the  Republi- 
can Party.  At  the  same  time  it  secured  a  man  with  extraordi- 
nary elements  of  personal  popularity  in  his  career — a  man  who 
rose  from  the  ranks  of  toil,  who  gained  the  means  for  his  edu- 
cation at  the  carpenter's  bench  and  on  the  tow-path  of  a  canal, 
who  served  with  distinguished  bravery  in  the  war,  and  who  has 
won  his  way,  by  pure  merit  and  honest  effort,  to  the  highest 
walks  of  statesmanship  and  scholarly  culture. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  met  at  Cincinnati  on 
the  22d  of  June.  The  party  had  been  suffering  from  the 
standing  candidacy  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  who  had  a  claim  upon 
the  nomination  based  on  the  assertion  by  the  Democratic  lead- 
ers and  newspapers  that  he  was  elected  in  1876  and  defrauded 
of  the  office.  He  personified  the  "  fraud  issue, '' aud  it  was 
manifestly  impossible  for  the  party  to  make  that  issue  promi- 
nent without  making  him  its  candidate.  Mr.  Tilden  wrote  a 
letter  just  before  the  convention  assembled,  declining  in  terms 
the  nomination.  The  letter  presented,  however,  in  a  masterly 
manner,  the  arguments  in  favor  of  his  candidacy,  and  was  gen- 
erally regarded  as  intended  to  strengthen  his  chances  for  the 
nomination.  On  the  first  ballot  the  delegates  scattered  their 
votes  as  follows  :  Hancock,  171  ;  Bayard,  153|  ;  Field,  65  ; 
Morrison,  62  ;  Hendricks,  49£  ;  Thurman,  68i  ;  Payne,  81  ; 
Tilden,  38  ;  Ewing,  10  ;  Seymour,  8  ;  scattering,  38. 

After  this  ballot  the  convention  adjourned  until  the  next 
day,  and  during  the  night  the  opponents  of  Tilden  managed  to 


OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

combine  upon  General  Hancock,  who  was  nominated  next 
morning.  The  second  ballot  stood  :  Hancock,  319  ;  Randall, 
129i  ;  Bayard,  113  ;  Field,  65$  ;  Thurman,  30  ;  Hendricks, 
31  ;  English,  19  ;  Tilden,  6  ;  scattering,  3.  Changes  were 
made  before  the  vote  was  announced  which  nominated  Hancock, 
he  having  705  votes  to  Hendricks,  30  ;  Bayard  2,  and  Tilden  1. 
Hancock  had  been  the  standing  candidate,  since  1868,  of 
those  Democrats  who  wanted  to  repeat  the  McClellan  ex- 
periment with  a  better  soldier  than  McClellan.  A  National 
Greenback  Convention  met  in  Chicago,  June  llth,  and  nom- 
inated J.  B.  Weaver,  of  Iowa,  for  President,  and  E.  J.  Cham- 
bers, of  Texas,  for  Vice-President. 


CHAPTER  XXVEII. 

A    FEW    WORDS    IN    CONCLUSION. 

In  the  foregoing  chapters  the  main  current  of  Republican 
action  has  been  clearly  traced,  beginning  with  the  hostility 
of  the  party  to  the  extension  of  slavery,  and  continuing  through 
its  successive  defence  of  the  integrity  of  the  American  Union, 
its  emancipation  of  the  slaves,  its  reorganization  of  the  rebel- 
lious States,  its  establishment  of  equal  suffrage  and  equal  citizen- 
ship for  all,  its  defence  of  the  public  credit,  and  its  resumption 
of  specie  payments.  Outside  of  this  main  channel  of  patriotic- 
activity  it  has  accomplished  many  things  which  should  not  be 
overlooked,  even  in  so  brief  a  sketch  as  is  given  in  these  pages. 
It  has  steadily  reduced  the  debt  resulting  from  the  war. 
and  has  paid  off  and  cancelled  the  enormous  amount  of  $837.- 
000,000  in  the  period  between  1865  and  1880.  At  the  same 
time  it  has  been  so  successful  in  funding  the  principal  of  the 
remaining  debt  in  low-interest  bonds  that  it  has  effected  A 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          89 

iving,  in  the  matter  of  interest  alone,  of  $71,000,000  a  year, 
thus  further  lessening  the  burden  of  the  debt.  It  steadily  re- 
duced taxation  and  public  expenditures  as  long  as  it  remained 
in  power  in  Congress.  It  has  greatly  improved  and  simplified 
the  protective  tariff  system,  originated  by  the  "Whig  Party,  and 
has  by  its  legislation  of  the  past  twenty  years  so  encouraged 
;ind  shielded  American  manufactures  that  they  have  increased 
more  than  fourfold  and  are  now  able  to  command  our  own 
markets  and  to  compete  in  many  lines  with  the  manufacture* 
of  older  countries  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  While  oppos-, 
ing  all  monopolies,  the  Republican  Party  has  had  for  its  central 
idea  in  its  tariff  legislation  the  fact  that  the  perpetuity  of  free 
institutions  in  this  country  requires  an  intelligent  laboring  class, 
and  that  such  a  class  cannot  exist  upon  the  pauper  wages  paid 
to  the  laborers  of  the  Old  World.  The  party  has  also  carried 
out  the  policy  of  internal  improvements,  originated  by  the 
Whig  Party,  and  by  a  system  of  judicious  legislation  has  opened 
the  great  rivers  of  the  country  to  navigation,  improved  its  har- 
bors, and  connected  the  Atlantic  with  the  Pacific  coast  by  great 
railway  lines.  It  has  established  a  national  banking  system 
which  saves  the  people  millions  of  dollars  annually  by  protect- 
ing them  against  the  losses  incident  to  the  old  State  banking 
systems  which  preceded  it.  It  has  greatly  impi  oved  the  postal 
m,  giving  to  the  country  fast  mails  and  letter-carrier  deliv- 
'•i  ie*.  It  has  established  the  principle  of  international  arbitra- 
tion as  a  means  of  averting  war.  A  catalogue  of  the  wise  meas- 
ures it  has  adopted  would  be  far  too  long  to  be  given  here. 
Xt-Mi'ly  all  of  these  measures  were  resisted  at  the  time  of  their 
adoption  by  the  opposition  party,  but  with  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion they  have  come  to  be  approved  by  that  party  as  wise  and 
patriotic.  No  one  can  see  into  the  future  of  American  politics, 
but  it  is  evident  that  the  party  which  has  been  able  to  meet  all 

•jf  the  issues  of  the  most  important  epoch  in  the  nation's  history 


90  HIS  TOR  T  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PA  RTT. 

with  such  signal  intelligence  and  such  remarkable  success  is 
not  near  the  end  of  its  career.  The  day  is  probably  far  dis- 
tant when  a  complete  and  final  history  of  the  Republican  Party 
can  be  written.  The  author  presents  these  pages  only  as  a  brief 
outline  sketch  of  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  its  existence. 


REPUBLICAN    PRINCIPLES. 


FIRST   REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL  PLATFORM. 
ADOPTED  AT  PHILADELPHIA,  JUNE  I?TH,  1856. 

THIS  convention  of  delegates,  assembled  in  pursuance  of  a 
call  addressed  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  without  regard 
to  past  political  differences  or  divisions,  who  are  opposed  to  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  to  the  policy  of  the  present 
administration,  to  the  extension  of  slavery  into  free  territory  ; 
in  favor  of  admitting  Kansas  as  a  free  State,  of  restoring  the 
action  of  the  Federal  Government  to  the  principles  of  Washing- 
ton and  Jefferson,  and  who  purpose  to  unite  in  presenting  can- 
didates for  the  offices  of  President  and  Vice-President,  do  re- 
solve as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  promulgated 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  embodied  in  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  our  repub- 
lican institutions,  and  that  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  rights 
of  the  States,  and  the  Union  of  the  States,  shall  be  preserved. 

Resolved,  That  with  our  republican  fathers  we  hold  it  to  be  a 
self-evident  truth  that  all  men  are  endowed  with  the  inalien- 
able rights  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  and 
that  the  primary  object  and  ulterior  designs  of  our  Federal  Gov- 
ernment were  to  secure  these  rights  to  all  persons  within  its 
exclusive  jurisdiction  ;  that  as  our  Republican  fathers,  when 
they  had  abolished  slavery  in  all  of  our  national  territory, 


92          HISTORY  OF  THK  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

ordained  that  n'o  person  should  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law.  it  becomes  our  duty  to 
maintain  this  provision  of  the  Constitution  against  all  attempts 
to  violate,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  slavery  in  any  territory 
of  the  United  States,  by  positive  legislation,  prohibiting  its  ex- 
istence or  extension  therein.  That  we  deny  the  authority  of 
Congress,  or  of  a  Territorial  Legislature,  of  any  individual  or 
association  of  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in 
any  Territory  of  the  United  States,  while  the  present  Constitu- 
tion shall  be  maintained. 

Resolved,  That  the  Constitution  confers  upon  Congress  sover- 
eign power  over  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  for  their 
government,  and  that  in  the  exercise  of  this  power  it  is  both  the 
right  and  the  duty  of  Congress  to  prohibit  in  the  Territories 
those  twin  relics  of  barbarism — polygamy  and  slavery. 

Resolved,  That  while  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
ordained  and  established  by  the  people  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity, 
provide  for  the  common  defense,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty,  and  contains  ample  provisions  for  the  protection  of  the 
life,  liberty,  and  property  of  every  citizen,  the  dearest  constitu- 
tional rights  of  the  people  of  Kansas  have  been  fraudulently  and 
violently  taken  from  them  ;  their  territory  has  been  invaded  by 
an  armed  force  ;  spurious  and  pretended  legislative,  judicial, 
and  executive  officers  have  been  set  over  them,  by  whose 
usurped  authority,  sustained  by  the  military  power  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, tyrannical  and  unconstitutional  laws  have  been  enacted 
and  enforced  ;  the  rights  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms 
have  been  infringed  ;  test  oaths  of  an  extraordinary  and  entan- 
gling nature  have  been  imposed  as  a  condition  of  exercising  the 
right  of  suffrage  and  holding  office  ;  the  right  of  an  accused 
person  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury  has 
been  denied  ;  the  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  per- 
sons, houses,  papers,  and  effects  against  unreasonable  searches 


HISTOHY  OF  THE  HUPUBLKJAX  PARTI'.          93 

and  seizures  has  been  violated  ;  they  havo  been  deprived  of 
life,  liberty,  and  property  without  due  process  of  law  ;  that  the 
freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  has  been  abridged  ;  the 
right  to  choose  their  representatives  has  been  made  of  no  effect  ; 
murders,  robberies,  and  arsons  have  been  instigated  and  eu- 
ro uraged,  and  the  offenders  have  been  allowed  to  go  unpun- 
ished ; — that  all  of  these  things  have  been  done  -with  the  knowl- 
edge, sanction,  and  procurement  of  the  present  administration, 
and  that  for  this  high  crime  against  the  Constitution,  the  Union, 
and  humanity,  we  arraign  the  administration,  the  President,  his 
advisers,  agents,  supporters,  apologists,  and  accessories,  either 
before  or  after  the  facts,  before  the  country  and  before  the 
world,  and  that  it  is  our  fixed  purpose  to  bring  the  actual  perpe- 
trators of  these  atrocious  outrages  and  their  accomplices  to  a 
sure  and  condign  punishment  hereafter. 

Resolved,  That  Kansas  should  be  immediately  admitted  as  a 
State  of  the  Union,  with  lu-r  present  free  Constitution,  as  at 
once  the  most  effectual  way  of  securing  to  her  citizens  the  en- 
joyment of  the  rights  and  privileges  to  which  they  are  entitled, 
and  of  ending  the  civil  strife  now  raging  in  her  territory. 

Resolved,  That  the  highwayman's  plea,  that  "  might  makes 
right,"  embodied  in  the  Ostend  circular,  was  in  every  respect 
unworthy  of  American  diplomacy,  and  would  bring  shame  and 
dishonor  upon  any  government  or  people  that  gave  it  their 
sanction. 

Resolved,  That  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  the  most  ecu 
tral  and  practicable  route,  is  imperatively  demanded  by  the  in- 
terests of  the  whole  country,  and  that  the  Federal  Governmeni 
ought  to  render  immediate  and  efficient  aid  in  its  construction  , 
and,  as  an  auxiliary  thereto,  the  immediate  construction  of  an 
emigrant  route  on  the  line  of  the  railroad. 

Resohed,  That  appropriations  b\  Congress  for  the  improve- 
ment of  rivers  and  harbors,  of  a  national  character,  required 
lor  the  accommodation  and  security  of  our  existing  commerce. 


94          HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

are  authorized  by  the  Constitution,  and  justified  by  the  obliga- 
tion of  Government  to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  its 
citizens. 


SECOND   REPUBLICAN   NATIONAL  PLATFORM. 
ADOPTED  AT  CHICAGO,  MAY  17TH,   1860. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  delegated  representatives  of  the  Re- 
publican electors  of  the  United  States,  in  convention  assembled, 
in  discharge  of  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  constituents  and  our 
country,  unite  in  the  following  declarations  : 

1.  That  the  history  of  the  nation  during  the  last  four  year? 
has  fully  established  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  the  organi- 
zation and  perpetuation  of  the  Republican  Party,  and  that  the 
causes  which  called  it  into  existence  are  permanent  in  their 
nature,  and  now,  more  than  ever  before,  demand  its  peaceful 
and  constitutional  triumph. 

"  2.  That  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  promulgated  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  embodied  in  the  Federal 
Constitution,  "  that  all  men  are  created  equal  ;  that  they  are 
endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights  ;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  punuit  of  happiness  ;  that 
to  secure  these  rights  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,1' 
is  essential  to  the.  preservation  of  our  republican  institutions  : 
and  that  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  rights  of  the  States,  and 
the  union  of  the  States  must  and  shall  be  preserved. 

3.  That  to  the  union  of  the  States  this  nation  owes  its  unpre- 
cedented*increase  in  population,  its  surprising  development  of 
material  resources,  its  rapid  augmentation  of  wealth,  its  happi- 
ness at  home,  and  its  honor  abroad  ;  and  we  hold  in  abhorrence 
all  schemes  for  disunion,  come  from  whatever  source  they,  may  ; 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PARTY.          95 

and  we  congratulate  the  country  that  no  Republican  member  of 
Congress  has  uttered  or  countenanced  the  threats  of  disunion  so 
often  made  by  Democratic  members  without  rebuke  and  with 
applause  from  their  political  associates  ;  and  we  denounce  those 
threats  of  disunion  in  case  of  a  popular  overthrow  of  their 
ascendency  as  denying  the  vital  principles  of  a  free  government, 
and  as  an  avowal  of  contemplated  treason  which  it  is  the  im- 
perative duty  of  an  indignant  people  sternly  to  rebuke  and  for- 
ever silence. 

4.  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights  of  the  States, 
and  especially  the  rights  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its 
own  domestic  institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment  ex- 
clusively, is  essential  to  that  balance  of  powers  on  which  the 
perfection  and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depends  ;  and 
we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force  of  the  soil 
of   any  State   or  Territory,  no   matter  under  what  pretext,  as 
among  the  gravest  of  crimes. 

5.  That  the  present  Democratic  administration  has  far  ex- 
ceeded our  worst  apprehensions,  in  its  measureless  subserviency 
to  the  exactions  of  a  sectional  interest,  as  especially  evinced  in 
its  desperate  exertions  to  force  the  infamous  Lecompton  Consti- 
tution upon  the  protesting  people  of  Kansas  ;  in  construing  the 
personal  relation  between  master  and  servant  to  involve  an  un- 
qualified property  in  persons  ;  in  its  attempted  enforcement, 
everywhere,  on  land  and  sea,  through  the  intervention  of  Con- 
gress and  of  the  Federal  courts,  and  of  the  extreme  pretensions 
of  a  purely  local  interest  ;  and  in  its  general  and  unvarying 
abuse  of  the  power  intrusted  to  it  by  a  confiding  people. 

6.  That  the  people  justly  view  with  alarm  the  reckless  extrav- 
agance which  pervades  every  department  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment ;  that  a  return  to  rigid  economy  and  accountability  is 
indispensable  to  arrest  the  systematic  plunder  of  the  public 
treasure  by  favored  partisans  ;  while  the  recent  startling  de- 
velopments of  fraud  and  corruption  at  the  Federal  metropolis 


Pfi  HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

show  that  an  entire  change  of  administration  is  imperatively 
demanded. 

7.  That  the  new  dogma  that  the  Constitution  of  its  own 
force  carries  slavery  into  any  or  all  of  the  Territories  of  the 
United  States  is  a  dangerous  political  heresy,  at  variance  with 
the  explicit  provisions  of  that  instrument  itself,  with  contem- 
poraneous exposition,  and  with  legislative  and  judicial  prece- 
dent ;  is  revolutionary  in   its  tendency,  and  subversive  of  the 
peace  and  harmony  of  the  country. 

8.  That  the  normal  condition  of  all  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  is  that  of  freedom  ;  that  as  our  republican  fathers, 
when  they  had  abolished  slavery  in  all  of  our  national  territory, 
ordained  that  "  no  person  should  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty, 
or  property  without  due  process  of  law,"  it  becomes  our  duty, 
by  legislation,  whenever  such  legislation  is  necessary,  to  main- 
tain this  provision  of  the  Constitution  against  all  attempts  to 
violate  it  ;  and  we  deny  the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a  Terri- 
torial Legislature,  or  of  any  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence 
to  slavery  in  any  Territory  in  the  United  States. 

9.  That  we  brand  the  recent  reopening  of  tin:  Afiicau  *lave 
trade,  under  tin   cover  of  our  national  flag,  aided  by  perversions 
of  judicial  power,  as  a  crime   against   humanity  and   a  burning 
shame  to  our  country  and  age  ;  and  we  call   upon  Congress  to 
rake  prompt  and  efficient  measures  for  the  total  and  final  sup- 
pression of  that  execrable  traffic. 

10.  That  in  the  recent  vetoes,  by  their  Federal  Governors,  of 
the  acts  of  the  Legislatures  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  prohibit- 
ing slavery  in  those  Territories,  we  find  a  practical  illustration 
of  the  boasted    Democratic  principle  of  non-intervention  and 
popular  sovereignty  embodied  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  and 
a  demonstration  of  the  deception  and  fraud  involved  therein. 

11.  That  Kansas  should,  of  right,  be  immediately  admitted 
as  a  State  under  the  constitution  recently  formed  and  adopted 
by  her  people,  and  accepted  by  the  House  of  Representative*. 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  R  EP  UL1 L  1C  A  N  PA  RTY.          9  ?" 

12.  That,  while  providing  revenue  for  the  support  of  the 
General  Government  by  duties  upon  imports,  sound  policy  re- 
quires such  an  adjustment -of  these  imposts  as  to  encourage  the 
development  of  the  industrial  interests  of  the  whole  country  ; 
and   we  commend  that  policy   of     national  exchanges   which 
secures  to  the  workingmen  liberal  wages,  to  agriculture  remu- 
nerating prices,  to  mechanics  and  manufacturers  an  adequate 
reward  for  their  skill,  labor  and  enterprise,  and  to  the  nation 
commercial  prosperity  and  independence. 

13.  That  we  protest  against  any  sale  or  alienation  to  others  of 
the  public  lands  held  by  actual  settlers,  and  against  any  view 
of  the  free  homestead  policy  which  regards  the  settlers  as  pau- 
pers or  suppliants  for  public  bounty  ;  and  we  demand  the  pas- 
sage by  Congress  of  the  complete  and  satisfactory  homestead 
measure  which  has  already  passed  the  House. 

14.  That  the  Republican  Party  is  opposed  to  any  change  in  our 
naturalization  laws,  of  any  State  legislation  by  which  the  rights 
of  citizenship  hitherto  accorded  to  immigrants  from  foreign 
lands  shall  be  abridged  or  impaired,  and  in  favor  of  giving  a 
full   and   efficient  protection  to   the   rights   of  all   classes   of 
citizens,  whether  native  or  naturalized  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

15.  That  appropriations  by  Congress  for  river  and  harbor  im- 
provements of  a  national  character  required  for  the  accommoda- 
tion and  security  of  an  existing  commerce,  are  authorized  by 
the  Constitution,  and  justified  by  the  obligation  of  Government 
to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  its  citizens. 

16.  That  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  imperatively  dc 
mauded  by  the  interests  of  the  whole  country  ;  that  the  Federal 
Government  ought  to  render  immediate  and  efficient  aid  in  its 
construction  ;  and  that  as  preliminary  thereto  a  daily  overland 
mail  should  be  promptly  established. 

17.  Finally,  having  thus  set  forth  our  distinctive  principles 
fond  views,  we  invite  the  co-operation  of  all  citizens,  however 
differing  on  other  questions,  who  substantially  agree  with  us  in 
their  affirmance  and  support. 


98          HISTORY  GF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

THIRD   REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL  PLATFORM. 
ADOPTED  AT  BALTIMORE,  JUNE  TTH,  18G4. 

Reached,  That  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  every  American 
citizen  to  maintain  against  all  their  enemies  the  integrity  of  the 
L'nion,  and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  United  States  ;  and  that,  laying  aside  all  differ- 
ences of  political  opinion,  we  pledge  ourselves  as  Union  men, 
animated  by  a  common  sentiment,  and  aiming  at  a  common 
object,  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  aid  the  Government  in 
quelling  by  force  of  arms  the  rebellion  now  raging  against  its 
authority,  and  in  bringing  to  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes  the  rebels  and  traitors  arrayed  against  it. 

Rcsohed,  That  we  approve  the  determination  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  not  to  compromise  with  rebels,  nor 
to  offer  any  terms  of  peace  except  such  as  may  be  based  upon 
an  "  unconditional  surrender''  of  their  hostility  and  a  return  to 
uicir  just  allegiance  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  we  call  upon  the  Government  to  maintain  this 
position  and  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the  utmost  possible 
vigor  to  the  complete  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  the  patriot- 
ism, the  heroic  valor,  and  the  undying  devotion  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  to  their  country  and  its  free  institutions. 

licsolced,  That,  as  slavery  was  the  cause,  and  now  constitutes 
the  strength,  of  this  rebellion,  and  as  it  must  be  always  and 
everywhere  hostile  to  the  principles  of  republican  govern- 
ment, justice  and  the  national  safety  demand  its  utter  and  com- 
plete extirpation  from  the  soil  of  the  Republic,  and  that  we  up- 
hold and  maintain  the  acts  and  proclamations  by  which  the 
Government,  in  its  own  defense,  has  aimed  a  death-blow  at 
this  gigantic  evil.  We  are  in  favor,  furthermore,  of  such  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  to  be  made  by  the  people  inr 
conformity  with  its  provisions,  as  shall  terminate  and  forever 


HISTORY  OF  TUB  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.          09 

prohibit  the  existence  of  silvery  within  the  limits  of  the  juris- 
diction of  the  United  States. 

Looked,  That  the  thanks  of  the  American  people  are  due  to 
the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  army  and  navy,  \vho  have 
perilled  their  lives  in  defense  of  their  country,  and  in  vindica- 
tion of  the  honor  of  the,  flag  ;  that  the  nation  owes  to  them 
some  permanent  recognition  of  their  patriotism  and  valor,  and 
ample  and  permanent  provision  for  these  of  their  survivors  who 
have  received  disabling  and  honorable  wounds  in  the  service  of 
the  country  ;  and  that  the  memories  of  those  who  have  fallen 
ia  its  defense  shall  be  held  in  grateful  and  everlasting  remem- 
brance. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  and  applaud  the  practical  wisdom, 
the  unselfish  patriotism  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  Consti- 
tution and  the  principles  of  American  liberty,  with  which  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  has  discharged,  under  circumstances  of  unparallel- 
ed difficulty,  the  great  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  Presi- 
dontij1!  office  ;  that  we  approve  and  indorse,  as  demanded  by 
the  emergency  and  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  nation, 
and  as  within  the  Constitution,  the  measures  and  acts  which 
ho  has  adopted  to  defend  the  nation  against  its  open  and  secret 
foes;  that  we  approve  especially  the  proclamation  of  emanci- 
pation, and  the  employment  as  Union  soldiers  of  men  here- 
tofore held  in  slavery  ;  and  that  we  have  full  confidence  in  his 
determination  to  carry  these  and  all  other  constitutional  meas- 
ures essential  to  the  salvation  of  the  country  into  full  and  com- 
plete effect. 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  it  essential  to  the  general  welfare 
that  harmony  should  prevail  in  the  national  councils,  and  we 
regard  as  worthy  of  public  confidence  and  official  trust  those 
only  who  cordially  indorse  the  principles  proclaimed  in  these 
resolutions,  and  which  should  characterize  the  administration 
of  the  Government. 

Resolved,  That  the  Government  owes  to  all  men  employed  in 
its  urmies,  without  regard  to  distinction  of  color,  the  full  pro- 


100       HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

tection  of  the  laws  of  war,  and  that  any  violation  of  these  laws 
of  the  usages  of  civilized  nations  in  the  time  of  war  by  the 
rebels  now  in  arms,  should  be  made  the  subject  of  full  and 
prompt  redress. 

Resolved,  That  the  foreign  immigration,  which  in  the  past  has 
added  so  much  to  the  wealth  and  development  of  resources  and 
increase  of  power  to  this  nation,  the  asylum  of  the  oppressed 
of  all  nations,  should  be  fostered  and  encouraged  by  a  liberal 
and  just  policy. 

Resoked,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  the  speedy  construction  of 
a  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

Resolved,  That  the  national  f  atli,  pledged  for  the  redemption 
of  the  public  debt,  must  be  kept  inviolate  ;  and  that  for  this 
purpose  we  recommend  economy  and  rigid  responsibility  in  the 
public  expenditures,  and  a  vigorous  and  a  just  system  of  taxa- 
tion ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  loyal  State  to  sustain  the  credit 
and  promote  the  use  of  the  national  currency. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  position  taken  by  the  Govern- 
ment that  the  people  of  the  United  States  never  regarded  with 
indifference  the  attempt  of  any  European  power  to  overthrow 
by  force,  or  to  supplant  by  fraud,  the  institutions  of  any  re- 
publican government  on  the  Western  Continent,  and  that  they 
view  with  extreme  jealousy,,  'as  menacing  to  the  peace  and  in- 
dependence of  this  our  country,  the  efforts  of  any  such  power 
to  obtain  new  footholds  for  monarchical  governments,  sustained 
by  a  foreign  military  force,  in  near  proximity  to  the  United 
States. 


FOURTH  REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL  PLATFORM. 
ADOPTED  AT  CHICAGO,  MAY  21sT,  1868. 

THE  National  Republican  Party  of  the  United  States,  assem- 
bled in  National  Convention  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  on  the  21st 
Jay  of  May,  1838,  make  the  following  declaration  of  principles  : 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY,       101 

L.  We  congratulate  the  country  on  the  assured  success  of  the 
reconstruction  policy  of  Congress,  as  evidenced  by  the  adop- 
tion, in  the  majority  of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion,  of  con- 
stitutions securing  equal  civil  and  political  rights  to  all  ;  and  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  sustain  those  constitutions  and 
to  prevent  the  people  of  such  States  from  being  remitted  to  a 
state  of  anarchy. 

2.  The  guarantee  by  Congress  of  equal  suffrage  to  all  loyal 
men  at  the  South  was  demanded  by  every  consideration  of  pub- 
lic safety,   of  gratitude,   and  of  justice,   and  must  be    main- 
tained ;  while  the  question  of  suffrage  in  all  of  the  loyal  States 
properly  belongs  to  the  people  of  those  States. 

3.  We  denounce  all  forms  of  repudiation  as  a  national  crime  ; 
and  the  national  honor  requires  the  payment  of  the  public  in- 
debtedness in  the  uttermosi  fc-uod  faith  to  all  creditors  at  home 
and  abroad,  not  only  according  to  the  letter  but  the  spirit  of 
the  laws  under  which  it  was  contracted. 

4.  It  is  due  to  the  labor  of  the  nation  that  taxation  should  be 
equalized    and   reduced    as   rapidly  as  the   national    faith  will 
permit. 

5.  The  national  debt,  contracted  as"  it  has  been  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union  for  all  time  to  come,  should  be  extended 
over  a  fair  period  for  redemption  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  Con- 
gress to  reduce  the  rate  of  interest  thereon  whenever  it  can  b« 
honestly  done. 

6.  That  the  best  policy  to  diminish  our  burden  of  debt  is  to 
so  improve  our  credit  that  capitalists  will  seek  to  loan  xis  money 
at  lower  rates  of  interest  than  we  now  pay  and/must  continue  to 
pay  so  long  as  repudiation,  partial  or  total,  open  or  covert,  is 
threatened  or  suspected. 

7.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  should  be  adminis- 
tered with  the  strictest  economy  :  and  the  corruptions  which 
have  been  so  shamefully  nursed  and  fostered  by  Andrew  John- 
son call  loudly  for  radical  reform. 


102       HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY, 

8.  "Wo  profoundly  deplore  the  untimely  and  tragic  death  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  regret  the  accession  to  the  Presidency  of 
Andrew  Johnson,   who  has  acted  treacherously  to  the  people 
who  elected  him  and  the  cause  he  was  pledged  to  support ; 
who  has  usurped  high  legislative  and  judicial  functi.ms  ;  who 
has  refused  to  execute  Ihe  laws  ;  who  has  used  his  high  office 
to   induce  other   officers  to   ignore  and  violate  the  laws  ;  who 
has    employed   his   executive   powers  to   render   insecure   the 
property,    the   peace,    liberty   and   life    of    the  citizen ;    who 
has   abused   the   pardoning  power ;    who    has    denounced  the 
national    legislature    as    unconstitutional  ;    who    has    persist- 
ently and  corruptly  resisted,  by  every  im-ans  in  his  power,  eviy 
proper  attempt  at  the  reconstruction  of  the  States  lately  in  re- 
bellion ;  who  has  perverted  the  public  patronage  into  an  engine 
of  wholesale  corruption  ;  and  who  has  been  justly  impeached 
for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,   and  properly  denounced 
guilty  thereof  by  the  vote  of  thirty-five  Senators. 

9.  The  doctrine  of  Great  Britain  and  other  European  powers, 
that  because  a  man  is  once  a  subject  he  is  always  so,  must  bo 
resisted  at  every  hazard  by  the  United  States,  as  a  rtlic  of  feu- 
dal times  not  authorized  by  the  laws  of  .nations,  and  at  war 
with    our    national    honor    and    independence.       Naturalized 
citizens  are  entitled  to  protection  in  all  of  their  rights  of  citizen- 
ship, as  though  they  were  native  born  ;  and  no  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  native  or  naturalized,  must  be  liable  to  arrest 
and  imprisonment  by  any  foreign  power  for  acts  done  or  words 
spoken  in  this  country  ;  and,  if  so  arrested  and  imprisoned,  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  interfere  in  his  behalf. 

10.  Of  all  who  were  faithful  in  the  trials  of  the  late  war, 
there  were  none  entitled  to  more  especial  honor  than  the  brave 
soldiers  and  seamen  who  endured  the  hardships  of  campaign 
and   cruise,    and  imperilled   their  lives  in  the  service   of  the 
country  ;  the  bounties  and  pensions  provided  by  the  laws  for 
these  bravo  defenders  of  the  nation  are  obligations  never  to  h<- 


UISTOn  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PARTY.        103 

forgotten  ;  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  gallant  dead  nro  the 
\v;i!-il3  of  the  people — a  sacred  legacy  bequeathed  to  the  nation's 
protecting  care. 

11.  Foreign  immigration,  which  in  the  past  has  added  so  much 
;o  tho  wealth,    development,   and  resources,   and  increase   of 
power  to  this  Republic,  the  asylum  of  the  oppressed  of  all  nations, 
should  be  fostered  and   encouraged  by  a  liberal  and  just  policy. 

12.  This  convention  declares  itself  in  sympathy  with  all  op- 
pressed peoples  struggling  for  their  rights. 

13.  That  we  highly  commend  the  spirit  of  magnanimity  and 
forbearance  with  which  men  who  have  served  in  the  Rebellion, 
but    who   now  frankly  and  honestly  co-operate  with  us   iia   re- 
storing the  peace  of  the  country  and  reconstructing  the  South- 
ern State  governments  upon  the  basis  of  impartial  justice  and 
equal  rights,  arc  received  back  into  the  communion  of  the  loyal 
people  ;  and  we  favor  the  removal  of  the  disqualifications  and 
restrictions  imposed  upon  the  late  rebels  in  the  same  measure  as 
the  spirit  of  disloyalty  will  die  out,  and   as  may  be  consistent 
with  tho  safety  of  the  loyal  people. 

14.  That  we  recognize  the  great  principles  laid  down  in  tho 
immortal  Declaration  of  Independence   as  the  true  foundation 
of  democratic  government,   and  we  hail  with  gladness    every 
effort  toward  making  these  principles  a  living  reality  on  every 
inch  of  American  soil. 


FIFTH   REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL   PLATFORM. 
ADOPTED  AT  PHILADELPHIA,  JUXE  GTH,  1872. 

THE  Republican  Party  of  the  United  States,  assembled  in 
National  Convention  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  5th  and 
6th  days  of  June,  1872,  again  declares  its  faith,  appeals  to  its 
history,  and  announces  its  position  upon  the  questions  before 
the  country  : 


104       HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

1.  During  eleven  years  of  supremacy  ifc  has  accepted  with 
grand  courage  the  solemn  duties  of  the  time.     It  suppressed  a 
gigantic  rebellion,  emancipated  four  millions  of  slaves,  decreed 
the  equal  citizenship  of  all,  and  established  universal  suffrage. 
Exhibiting   unparalleled  magnanimity,  it  criminally    punished 
no  man  for  political  offenses,   and  -warmly  welcomed  all  who 
proved  loyalty  by  obeying  the  laws  and  dealing  justly  with 
their  neighbors.     It  has  steadily  decreased  with  firm  hand  thc^ 
resultant  disorders  of  a  great  wai*,   and   initiated  a  wise  and 
humane  policy  toward  the  Indians.     The  Pacific  Railroad  and 
similar  vast  enterprises  have  been  generously  aided  and  success- 
fully conducted,  the  public  lands  freely  given  to  actual  settlers, 
immigration  protected  and  encouraged,  and  a  full  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  naturalized  citizen's  rights  secured  from  European 
powers.     A  uniform  national  currency  has  been  provided,  repu- 
diation frowned  down,  the  national  credit  sustained  under  the 
most  extraordinary  burdens,  and  new  bonds  negotiated  at  low 
rates.     The  revenues  have  been  carefully  collected  and  honestly 
applied.     Despite  annual  large  reductions  of  the  rates  of  taxa- 
tion, the  public  debt  has  been  reduced  during  General  Grant's 
Presidency  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  millions  a  year,  great  finan- 
cial crises  have  been  avoided,  and  peace  and   plenty   prevail 
throughout  the  land.     Menacing  foreign  difficulties  have  been 
peacefully  and  honorably  composed,  and  the  honor  and  power 
of  the  nation  kept  in  high  respect  throughout  the  world.     This 
glorious  record   of  the  past  is  the  party's  best  pledge  for  the 
future.     We  believe  the  people   will  not  intrust  the  govern- 
mcntto  any    party   or   combination   of  men   composed  chiefly 
of  those  who  have  resisted  every  step  of  this  beneficent  pro- 
gress. 

2.  The  recent  amendments  to  the  National  Constitution  should 
be  cordially  sustained  because  they  arc  right,  not  merely  toler- 
ated because  they  are  law,  and  should  be  carried  out  according 
to  their  spirit  by  appropriate  legislation,   the  enforcement  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  kEl'IBLiCAN  PARTY.         lOfi 

which  can  safely  be  intrusted  only  to  the  party  that  secured 
those  amendments. 

3.  Complete  liberty  and  exact  equality  in  the  enjoyment  of 
;ill  civil,  political,  and  public  rights  should  be  established  and 
effectually  maintained  throughout  the  Union  by  efficient  and 
appropriate  State  and  Federal  legislation.     Neither  the  law  nor 
ity  administration  should  admit  any  discrimination  in  respect  of 
./citizens  by  reason  of  race,  creed,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude. 

4.  The  National  Government  should  seek  to  maintain  honor- 
able peace  with  all  nations,  protecting  its  citizens  everywhere,  and 
sympathizing  with  all  peoples  who  strive  for  greater  liberty. 

5.  Any  system  of  the  civil  service  under  which  the  positions 
of  the  Government  are  considered  rewards  for  mere  party  zeal  is 
fatally  demoralizing,  and  we   therefore  favor  a  reform  of  the 
system  by  laws  which  shall  abolish  the  evils  of  patronage  and 
make  honesty,  efficiency,    and  fidelity,  the  essential  qualifica- 
tions for  public  positions,   without  practically  creating  a  life 
tenure  of  office. 

6.  We  are  opposed  to  further  grants  of  public  lands  to  cor- 
porations and  monopolies,  and  demand  that  the  national  domain 
be  set  apart  for  free  homes  for  the  people. 

7.  The  annual  revenue,    after  paying  current  expenditures, 
pensions,  and  the  interest  on  the  public  debt,  should  furnish  a 
moderate  balance  for  the  reduction  of  the  principal,  and  that 
revenue,  except  so  much   as  may  be  derived  from  a  tax  upon 
tobacco  and  liquors,  should  be  raised  by  duties  upon  importa- 
tions, the  details  of  which  should  be  so  adjusted  as  to  aid  in 
securing  remunerative  wages  to  labor,  and  promote  the  indus- 
tries, prosperity,  and  growth  of  the  whole  country. 

8.  "We  hold  in  undying  honor  the  soldiers  and  sailors  whose 
valor  saved  the  Union.     Their  pensions  are  a  sacred  debt  of  the 
nation,  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  died  for  their 
country  are  entitled  to  the  care  of    a  generous  and   grateful 


100       HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

people.  We  favor  such  additional  legislation  as  will  extend 
the  bounty  of  the  Government  to  all  of  our  soldiers  and  sailors 
who  were  honorably  discharged,  and  who  in  the  line  of  duty 
became  disabled,  without  regard  to  the  length  of  service  or  the 
cause  of  such  discharge. 

9.  The  doctrine  of  Great  Britain  and  other  European  powers 
concerning  allegiance — "  once  a  subject  always  a  subject"- 
having  at  last,   through  efforts  of  the  Republican  Party,  been 
abandoned,  and  the  American  idea  of  the  individual's  right  to 
transfer  allegiance  having  been  accepted  by  European  nations, 
it  is  the  duty  of  our  Government  to  guard  with  jealous  care  the 
right  of  adopted  citizens  against  the  assumption  of  unauthorized 
claims  by  their  former  governments,  and  we  urge  continued, 
careful  encouragement  and  protection  of  voluntary  immigration. 

10.  The  franking  privilege  ought  to  be  abolished,  and  the 
way  prepared  for  a  speedy  reduction  in  the  rates  cf  postage. 

11.  Among  the  questions  which  press  for  attention  is  that 
which  concerns  the  relations  of  capital  and  labor,  and  the  Re- 
publican party  recognizes  the  duty  of   so  shaping  legislation  as 
to  secure  full  protection  and  the  amplest  field  for  capital,  and 
for  labor,  the  creator  of  capital,  the  largest  opportunities,  and 
a  just  share  of  the  mutual  profits  of  these  two  great  servants  of 
civilization. 

12.  We  hold  that  Congress  and  the  President  have  only  ful- 
filled an  imperative  duty  in  their  measures  for  the  suppression 
of  violent  and  treasonable  organizations  in  certain  lately  rebel- 
lious regions,  and  for  the  protection  of  the  ballot-box  ;  and, 
therefore,  they  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  nation. 

13.  We  denounce  repudiation  of  the  public  debt,  in  any  form 
or  disguise,  as  a  national  crime.     We  witness  with  pride  the 
reduction  of  the  principal  of  the  debt,  and  of  the  rates  of  inter- 
est upon  the  balance,  and  confidently  expect  that  our  excellent 
national  currency  will  be  perfected  by  a  speedy  resumption  of 
specie  payment. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.       107 

14.  The  Republican  Party  is  mindful  of  its  obligations  to  tho 
loyal  women  of  America  for  their  noble  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  freedom.     Their  admission  to  the  wider  fields  of  usefulness 
is  viewed  with  satisfaction  ;  and  the  honest  demand  of  any  class 
of  citizens  for  additional  rights  should  be  treated  with  respect- 
ful consideration. 

15.  "We  heartily  approve  the  action  of  Congress  in  extending 
amnesty  to  those  lately  in  rebellion,  and  rejoice  in  the  growth 
of  peace  and  fraternal  feeling  throughout  the  land. 

16.  The  Republican  party  proposes  to  respect  the  rights  re- 
served by  the  people  to  themselves  as  the  powers  delegated  by 
them  to  the  State  and  to  the  Federal  Government.     It  disap- 
proves of  the  resort  to  unconstitutional  laws  for  the  purpose  of 
removing  evils,  by  interference  with  rights  not  surrendered  by 
the  people  to  cither  the  State  or  National  Government. 

17.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  General  Government  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  may  tend  to  encourage  and  restore  American  com- 
merce and  ship-building. 

18.  "We  believe  that  the  modest  patriotism,  the  earnest  pur- 
pose, the  sound  judgment,  the  practical  wisdom,  the  incorrup- 
tible integrity,  and  the  illustrious  services  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant 
have*  commended  him  to  the  heart  of  the  American  people,  and 
with   him  at  our  head  we  start  to-day  upon  a  new  march  to 
victory. 

19.  Henry  Wilson,  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  known 
to  the  whole  land  from  the  early  days  of  the  great  struggle  for 
liberty  as  an  indefatigable  laborer  in  all  campaigns,  an  incor- 
ruptible legislator  and  representative  man  of  American  institu 
tions,  is  worthy  to  associate  with  our  great  leader  and  share  th< 
honors  which  we  pledge  our  best  efforts  to  bestow  upon  them. 


108       BISTORT  GF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

SIXTH   REPUBLICAN   NATIONAL   PLATFORM. 

ADOPTED  AT  CINCINNATI,  JUNE  IOTH,  187G. 


in  the  economy  of  Providence,  this  land  was  to  be 
purged  of  human  slavery,  and  when  the  strength  of  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  was  to  be  dem- 
onstrated, the  Republican  Party  came  into  power.  Its  deeds 
have  passed  into  history,  and  we  look  back  to  them  with  pride. 
Incited  by  their  memories  to  high  aiim  for  the  good  of  our 
country  and  mankind,  and  looking  to  the  future  with  unfalter- 
ing courage,  hope,  and  purpose,  we,  the  representatives  of  the 
party  in  National  Convention  assembled,  make  the  following 
declaration  of  principles  : 

1.  The  United  States  of  America  is  a  nation,  not  a  league. 
By  the  combined  workings  of  the  National  and  State  Govern- 
ments, under  their  respective  constitutions,  the  rights  of  every 
citizen  are  secured,  at  home  and  abroad,  and  the  common  wel- 
fare promoted. 

2.  The  Republican  Party  has  preserved  these  governments  to 
the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  nation's  birth,  and  they  are 
now  embodiments  of  the  great  truths  spoken  at  its  cradle  — 
"  that   all  men  are  created   equal  ;  that  they  are  endowed  by 
their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  among  which  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  ;  that  for  the  attain- 
ment of  these  enrls  governments  have  been  instituted  among 
men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned."    Until  these  truths  are  cheerfully  obeyed,  or  if  need  be 
vigorously  enforced,  the  work  of  the  Republican  Party  is  un- 
finished. 

3.  The  permanent  pacification  of  the  southern  section  .of  the 
Union  and  the  complete  protection  of  all  of  its  citizens  in  the 
free  enjoyment  of  all  of  their  rights  is  a  duty  to  which  the  Re- 
publican Party  stands  sacredly  pledged.     The  power  to  provide 


WYOF  THE    :,  '•  ..i'L'BJJf'AX  PAUTT.        109 


for  the  enforcement  of  the  principles  embodied  in  the  recent 
constitutional  amendments  is  vested  by  those  amendments  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  we  declare  it  to  be  the 
solemn  obligation  of  the  legislative  and  executive  departments 
of  the  Government  to  put  imo  immediate  and  vigorous  exercise 
all  their  constitutional  powers  for  removing  any  just  causes  of 
discontent  on  the  part  of  any  class,  and  for  securing  to  every 
American  citizen  complete  liberty  and  exact  equality  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  all  civil,  political,  and  public  rights.  To  this  end  we 
imperatively  demand  a  Congress  and  a  Chief  Executive  -whose 
oo  ura  ge  and  fidelity  to  those  duties  shall  not  falter  until  these 
results  are  placed  beyond  dispute  or  recall. 

4.  In  the  first  act  of  Congress  signed  by  President  Grant,  the 
National  Government  assumed  to  remove  any  doubts  of  its  pur- 
pose to  discharge  all  just   obligations  to  the  public  creditors, 
and  "  solemnly  pledged  its  faith  to  make  provision  at  the  earli- 
est practicable  period  for  the  redemption  of  the  United  States 
notes  in  coin.''     Commercial   prosperity,    public   morals,  and 
national  credit  demand  that  this  promise  be  fulfilled  by  a  con- 
tinuous and  steady  progress  to  specie  payment. 

5.  Under  the  Constitution  the  President  and  heads  of  de- 
partments are  to  make  nominations  for  office  ;  the  Senate  is  to 
advise  and  consent  to  appointments,  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives is  to  accuse  and  prosecute  faithless  officers.    The  best 
interest  of  the  public  service  demands  that  these  distinctions  be 
respected  ;  that    Senators   and    Representatives    who  may  be 
judges  and  accusers  should  not  dictate  appointments  to  office. 
The  invariable  rule  in  appointments  should  have  reference  to 
the  honesty,  fidelity,  and  capacity  of  the  appointees,  giving  to 
the  party  in  power  those  places  where  harmony  and  vigor  of 
administration  require  its  policy  to  be  represented,  but  permit- 
ting all  others  to  be  filled  by  persons  selected  with  sole  refer- 
ence to  the  efficiency  of  the  public  service,  and  the  right  of  all 


110       HISTOJt  T  OF  THE  EEP  UBLICAN  PARTY. 

citizens  to  share  in  the  honor  of  rendering  faithful  service  to 
the  country. 

G.  Wo  rejoice  in  the  quickened  conscience  of  the  people  con- 
cerning political  affairs,  and  will  hold  all  public  officers  to  a 
rigid  responsibility,  and  engage  that  the  prosecution  and  pun- 
ishment of  all  who  betray  official  trusts  shall  be  swift,  thorough, 
and  unsparing. 

7.  The  public  school  system  of  the  several  States  is  the  bul- 
wark of  the  American  Republic,  and  with  a  view  to  its  security 
and  permanence   we  recommend  an  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  forbidding  the  application  of  any 
public  funds  or  property  for  the  benefit  of  any  schools  or  insti- 
tutions under  sectarian  control. 

8.  The  revenue  necessary  for  current  expenditures  and   the 
obligations  of  the  public  debt  must  be  largely  derived  from 
duties  upon  importations,  which,  so  far  as  possible,  should  be 
adjusted  to  promote  the  interests  of  American  labor  and  advance 
the  prosperity  of  the  whole  country. 

9.  "\Vc  reaffirm  our  opposition  to  further  grants  of  the  public 
lands  to  corporations  and  monopolies,  and  demand  that  the 
national  domain  be  devoted  to  free  homes  for  the  people. 

10.  It  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Government  so  to  modify 
existing  treaties  with    European  Governments  that  the  same 
protection  shall  be  afforded  to  the  adopted  American  citizen 
that  is  given  to  the  native  born  ;  and  that  all   necessary  laws 
should  be  passed  to  protect  emigrants  in  the  absence  of  power 
in  the  States  for  that  purpose. 

11.  It  is  the  immediate  duty  of  Congress  to  fully  investigate 
the  effect  of  the  immigration  and  importation  of  Mongolians 
upon  the  moral  and  material  interests  of  the  country. 

12.  The  Republican  Party  recognizes  with  approval  the  sub- 
stantial advances  recently  made  toward  the  establishment   of 
equal  rights  for  women  by  the  many  important  amendments 
effected  by  Republican  legislatures  in  the  laws  which  concern 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REP  UBLICAN  PA  R TT.        Ill 

the  personal  and  property  relations  of  wives,  mothers,  and  wid- 
ows, and  by  the  appointment  and  election  of  women  to  tho 
superintendence  of  education,  charities,  and  other  public  trusts. 
The  honest  demands  of  this  class  of  citizens  for  additional 
rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  should  bo  treated  with  re- 
spectful consideration. 

13.  The  Constitution  confers  upon  Congress  sovereign  power 
over  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  for  their  government, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  this  power  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of 
Congress  to  prohibit  and  extirpate,  in  the  Territories,  that  relic 
of  barbarism — polygamy  ;  and  we  demand  such  legislation  as 
shall  secure  this  end  and  the  supremacy  of  American  institu- 
tions in  all  of  the  Territories. 

14.  The  pledges  which  the  nation  has  given  to  her  soldiers 
and  sailors  must  be  fulfilled,  and  a  grateful  people  will  always 
hold  those  who  imperilled  their  lives  for  the  country's  preser- 
vation in  the  kindest  remembrance. 

15.  We  sincerely  deprecate  all  sectional  feeling  and  tenden- 
cies.    We  therefore  note  with  deep  solicitude  that  the  Demo- 
cratic Party  counts,  as  its  chief  hope  of  success,  upon  the  elec- 
toral vote  of  a  united  South,  secured  through  the  efforts  of 
those  who  were  recently  arrayed  against  the  nation,  and  we  in- 
voke the  earnest  attention  of  the  country  to  the  grave  truth  that 
:i  Miccess  thus  achieved  would  reopen  sectional  strife  and  im- 
peril national  honor  and  human  rights. 

16.  We  charge  the  Democratic  Party  with  being  the  same  in 
r-haracter  and  spirit  as  when  it  sympathized  with  treason  ;  with 
making  its  control  of  the  House  of  Representatives  the  triumph 
and  opportunity  of  the  nation's  recent  foes  ;  v;ith  reasserting 
and  applauding  in  the  National  Capitol  the  sentiments  of  unre- 
pentant rebellion  ;  with  sending  Union  soldiers  to  the  rear,  and 
promoting  Confederate  soldiers  to  the  front  ;  with  deliberately 
proposing  to  repudiate  the  plighted  faith  of  the  Government  ; 
with  being  equally  false  and  imbecile  upon  the  overshadowing 


112       BISTORT  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

financial  questions  ;  with  thwarting  the  ends  of  justice  by  its 
partisan  mismanagement  and  obstruction  of  investigation  ;  with 
proving  itself,  through  the  period  of  its  ascendency  in  the  lower 
House  of  Congress,  utterly  incompetent  to  administer  the  Gov- 
ernment ;  and  we  warn  the  country  against  trusting  a  party  thus 
alike  unworthy,  recreant,  and  incapable. 

17.  The  national  administration  merits  commendation  for  its 
honorable  \york  in  the  management  of  domestic  and  foreign 
affairs,  and  President  firant  deserves  the  continued  heany 
gratitude  of  the  American  people  for  his  patriotism  and  his 
eminent  services,  in  war  and  in  peace. 

Upon  the  reading  of  the  resolutions,  Edward  L.  Pierce,  of 
Massachusetts,  moved  to  strike  out  the  eleventh  resolution  : 
which,  after  debate,  was  disagreed  to — yeas  215,  nays  532. 

Edmund  J.  Davis  moved  to  strike  out  the  fourth  resolution 
and  substitute  for  it  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  provide  for  carry- 
ing out  the  act  known  as  the  Resumption  Act  of  Congress,  to 
the  end  that  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  may  not  be 
longer  delayed.  Which,  after  a  brief  debate,  was  disagreed  to 
on  a  viva  wee  vote, 

The  candidates  were  :  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  for 
President  ;  William  A.  Wheeler,  of  New  York,  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. 


SEVENTH   REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL   PLATFORM. 
ADOPTED  AT  CHICAGO,  JUNE  STH,  1880. 

THE  Republican  Party,  in  National  Convention  assembled,  at 
the  end  of  twenty  years  since  the  Federal  Government  was  first 
committed  to  its  charge,  submits  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  this  brief  report  of  its  administration  :  It  suppressed  a 
rebellion  which  had  armed  nearly  a  million  of  men  to  subvert 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.        113 

the  national  authority.  It  reconstructed  the  Union  of  the 
States,  with  freedom  instead  of  slavery  as  it  corner-stone.  It 
transformed  4,000,000  hunuiri  beings  from  the  likeness  of  things 
to  the  rank  of  citizens.  It  relieved  Congress  from  the  infamous 
work  of  hunting  fugitive  slaves,  and  charged  it  to  see  that 
slavery  does  not  exist.  It  has  raised  the  value  of  our  paper 
currency  from  thirty-eight  per  cent  to  the  par  value  of  gold.  It 
hub  restored  upon  a  solid  basis,  payment  in  coin  for  all  the 
national  obligations,  and  has  given  us  a  currency  absolutely  good 
and  equal  in  every  part  of  our  extended  country.  It  has  lifted 
the  credit  of  the  nation  from  the  point  where  six  pei  cent  bonds 
sold  at  eighty-six  to  that  where  four  per  cent  bonds  are  eagerly 
sought  at  a  premium.  Under  its  administration  railways  have 
increased  from  thirty-one  thousand  miles  in  1860  to  more  than 
eighty  thousand  miles  in  1879.  Our  foreign  trade  has  increased 
from  seven  hundred  millions  to  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  mill- 
ions in  the  same  time  ;  and  our  exports,  which  were  twenty 
millions  less  than  our  imports  in  1800,  were  $264,000,000  more 
than  our  imports  in  1879.  Without  resorting  to  loans  it  has, 
since  the  war  closed,  defrayed  the  ordinary  expenses  of  govern- 
ment besides  the  accruing  interest  on  the  public  debt,  and  dis- 
bursed annually  more  than  §30,000,000  for  soldiers1  pensions. 
It  has  paid  $888,000,000  of  the  public  debt,  and,  by  refunding 
the  balance  at  a  lower  rate,  has  reduced  the  annual  interest 
charge  from  nearly  $151,000,000  to  less  than  $89,000,000.  All 
the  industries  of  the  country  have  revived,  labor  is  in  demand. 
wages  have  increased,  and  throughout  the  entire  country  there 
is  evidence  of  a  coming  prosperity  greater  than  we  have  ever 
enjoyed.  Upon  this  record  the  Republican  Party  asks  .for  the 
continued  confidence  and  support  of  the  people,  and  this  con- 
vention submits  for  their  approval  the  following  statement  of 
the  principles  and  purposes  which  will  continue  to  guide  and 
inspire  its  efforts  : 

1.  We  affirm  that  the  work  of  the  last  twenty-one  years  has 


114       HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

been  such  as  to  commend  itself  to  the  favor  of  the  nation,  and 
that  the  fruits  of  costly  victories  which  \ve  have  achieved 
through  immense  difficulties  should  be  preserved  ;  that  the 
peace  so  gained  should  be  cherished  ;  that  the  dissevered  Union, 
now  happily  restored,  should  be  perpetuated,  and  that  the  lib- 
erties secured  to  this  generation  should  be  transmitted  undi- 
minished  to  future  generations  ;  that  the  order  established  and 
the  credit  acquired  should  never  be  impaired  ;  that  the  pension 
promises  should  be  paid  ;  that  the  debt  so  much  reduced  should 
be  extinguished  by  the  full  payment  of  every  dollar  thereof  ; 
that  the  reviving  industries  should  be  further  promoted,  and 
that  the  commerce,  already  so  great,  should  be  steadily  encour- 
aged. 

2.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  a  supreme  law,  and 
not  a  mere  contract.  Out  of  confederated  States  it  made  a  sov- 
ereign nation.  Some  powers  are  denied  the  nation,  while  others 
are  denied  the  States.  But  the  boundary  between  powers  dele- 
gated and  those  reserved  is  to  be  determined  by  the  National 
and  not  the  State  tribunals. 

8.  The  work  of  popular  education  is  one  left  to  the  care  of 
the  several  States,  but  it  is  the  duty  of  the  National  Government 
to  aid  that  work  to  the  extent  of  its  constitutional  ability.  The 
intelligence  of  the  nation  is  but  the  aggregate  intelligence  or 
the  several  States,  and  the  destiny  of  the  nation  must  be  guided, 
not  by  the  genius  of  any  one  State,  but  by  the  average  geniu* 
of  all! 

4.  The  Constitution  wisely  forbids  Congress  to  make  any  law 
respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  but  it  is  idle  to  hope 
that  the  nation  can  be  protected  asrainst  the  influence  of  sectari- 
anism while  each  State  is  exposed  to  its  domination.  "We 
therefore  recommend  that  the  Constitution  be  so  amended  as  to 
lay  the  same  prohibition  on  the  Legislature  of  each  State,  and 
to  forbid  the  appropriation  of  public  funds  to  the  support  of 
sectarian  schools. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.       115 

5.  We  reaffirm  the  belief  avowed  in  1876  that  the   duties 
levied  for  the  purpose  of  revenue  should  so  discriminate  as  to 
favor   American  labor  ;  that  no  further    grant  of   the  public 
domain  should  be  made  to  any  railroad  or  other  corporation  ; 
that  slavery  having  perished  in  the  States,  its  twin  barbarity, 
polygamy,  must  die  in  the  Territories  ;  that  everywhere  the  pro- 
tection accorded  to  a  citizen  of  American  birth  must  be  secuied 
to  citi/.ens  by  American  adoption  ;  that  we  esteem  it  the  duty  of 
Congress  to  develop  and  improve  our  water-courses  and  harbors, 
but  insist  that  further  subsidies  to  private  persons  or  corpora- 
tions must  cease  ;  that  the  obligations  of  the  Republic  to  the 
men  who  preserved  its  integrity  in  the  day  of  battle  are  undimin- 
ished  by  the  lapse  of  fifteen  years  since  their  final  victory,  and 
their  perpetual  honor  is  and  shall  forever  be  the  grateful  privi- 
lege and  sacred  duty  of  the  American  people. 

6.  Since  the  authority  for  regular  immigration  and  intercourse 
between  the  United  States  and  foreign  nations  rests  with  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  and  its  treaty-making  powers,  the 
Republican  Party,  regarding  the  unrestricted    immigration   of 
the  Chinese  as  an  evil  of  great  magnitude,  invoke  the  exercise  of 
that  power  to  restrain  and  limit  that  immigration  by  the  enact- 
ment of  such  just,  humane  and  reasonable  provisions  as  will  pro- 
duce that  result. 

7.  That  the  purity  and  patriotism  which    characterized  the 
earlier  career  of  R.  B.   Hayes,  in  peace  and  war,  and   which 
guided  the  thought  of  our  immediate  predecessors  to  him  for  a 
Presidential  candidate,  have  continued  to  inspire  him  in  his 
career  as  Chief  Executive,  and  that  history  will  accord  to  his 
administration  the   honors  which  are  due   to  an  efficient,  just, 
and  courteous  discharge  of  the  public  business,  and  will  honor 
his  interpositions  between   the  people   and   proposed   partisan 
laws. 

8.  We  charge  upon  the  Democratic  Party  the  habitual  sacrifice 
of  patriotism  and  justice  to  a  supreme  and  insatiable  lust  of 


1 1 6        HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  REP  UBL TCAN  PA  R TY. 

office  and  patronage  ;  that  to  obtain  possession  of  the  National 
Government  and  State  Governments,  and  the  control 'of  place, 
they  have  obstructed  all  efforts  to  promote  the  purity  and  to 
conserve  the  freedom  of  suffrage  ;  have  labored  to  unseat  law- 
fully elected  members  of  Congress  to  secure  at  all  hazards  the 
majority  of  the  States  in  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  have 
endeavored  to  occupy  by  force  and  fraud  the  places  of  trust  given 
to  others  by  the  people  of  Maine,  and  rescued  by  the  courage 
and  action  of  Maine's  patriotic  sons  ;  have,  by  methods  vicious 
in  principle  and  tyrannical  in  practice,  attached  partisan  legisla- 
tion to  appropriations,  upon  whose  passage  the  veiy  movements 
of  the  Government  depend  ;  have  crushed  the  rights  of  the  in- 
dividual, have  advocated  the  principles  and  sought  the  favor  of 
rebellion  against  the  nation,  and  have  endeavored  to  obliterate 
the  sacred  memories  of  the  war  and  to  overcome  its  inestimably 
good  results  of  nationality,  personal  freedom,  and  individual 
equality.  The  equal  steady  and  complete  enforcement  of  the 
laws  and  the  protection  of  all  our  citizens  in  the  enjoyment  of 
all  privileges  and  immunities  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  is 
the  first  duty  of  the  nation.  The  dangers  of  a  solid  South  can 
only  be  averted  by  a  faithful  performance  of  every  promise 
which  the  nation  has  made  to  its  citizens.  .The  execution  of 
the  laws  and  the  punishment  of  all  those  who  violate  th<  i 
the  only  safe  method  by  which  an  enduring  peace  can  be  se- 
cured, and  genuine  prosperity  established  throughout  the  South. 
Whatever  promises  the  nation  makes  the  nation  must  perform, 
and  the  nation  cannot  with  safety  relegate  this  duty  to  tin 
States.  The  solid  South  must  be  divided  by  the  peaceful  sigcn- 
cies  of  the  ballot,  and  all  opinions  must  there  find  free  expres- 
sion ;  and  to  this  end  the  honest  voter  must  be  protected  against 
terrorism,  violence,  or  fraud.  And  we  affirm  it  to  be  the  duty 
and  purpose  of  the  Republican  Party  to  use  all  legitimate 
means  to  restore  all  States  of  this  Union  to  the  most  perfect 
harmony  which  may  be  possible.  And  we  submit  to  the  prac- 


HISTOR  T  OF  THE  EEP  UBLICAN  PA  R  TY.        117 

tical,  sensible  people  of  the  United  States  to  say  whether  it 
would  not  be  dangerous  to  the  dearest  interests  of  our  country 
at  this  time  to  surrender  the  administration  of  the  National  Gov- 
ernment to  a  party  which  seeks  to  overthrow  the  existing 
policy,  under  which  we  are  so  prosperous,  and  thus  bring  dis- 
trust and  confusion  where  there  is  now  order,  confidence,  and 
hope. 

The  Republican  Party,  adhering  to  the  principle  affirmed  by 
its  last  National  Convention,  o"f  respect  for  the  constitutional 
raJes  governing  appointments  to  office,  adopts  the  declaration 
of  President  Hayes,  that  the  reform  of  the  civil  service  should 
be  thorough,  radical,  and  complete.  To  this  end  it  demands  the 
co-operation  of  the  legislative  with  the  executive  department  of 
the  Government,  and  that  Congress  shall  so  legislate  that  fitness, 
ascertained  by  proper  practical  tests,  shall  admit  to  the  publie 
service. 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 


BY 


CHARLES    T.    COXGDON. 


EAELY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 


THERE  is  abundant  evidence  that  slavery  in  America  was 
never  germane  to  the  sentiment  and  conscience  of  the  American 
people.  The  plea  sometimes  adduced  during  the  anti-slavery 
discussion,  that  the  slaves  were  forced  upon  the  colonies  by  the 
commercial  cupidity  of  the  mother  country,  was  not  without  a 
modicum  of  truth.  It  is  historically  true  that  both  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  sought  to  restrict  the 
importation  of  slaves.  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania  pressed 
the  adoption  of  similar  measures,  but  in  each  instance  the  veto 
of  the  colonial  governor  was  interposed.  It  must  be  under- 
stood that,  notwithstanding  slave  labor  was  in  many  of  the  colo- 
nies found  profitable,  there  was  always  sturdy  protest  against  it. 
The  constant  testimony  of  the  Quakers  against  it  is  of  record. 
John  Wesley  had  denounced  it  as  the  sum  of  ail  villainies  ; 
Whitefield  had  spoken  to  the  planters  of  ;>  the  miseries  of  the 
poor  negroes;"  Dr.  Hopkins,  the  eminent  theologian,  had  filly 
characterized  the  traffic  in  its  very  centre,  and  to  the  face-  of 
the  Newport  merchants  engaged  in  it.  The  Continental  Cor:  - 
gross  in  1774  had  pledged  the  United  Colonies  to  discontinue- 
altogether  the  slave  trade.  Several  of  the  slave  colonies  them- 
selves joined  in  the  declaration  against  the  trade.  These  facts 
are  worth  remembering,  because  they  show  that  even  at  that 
time  there  was  a  strong  and  conscientious  feeling  against  slavery 
and  in  favor  of  justice  and  humanity.  The  defence  of  slaverv 
upon  moral,  theological,  and  political  grounds  came  afterv,:u.i 


122  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

It  is  nearly  a  hundred  years  since  the  establishment  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Society  for  Promoting  the  Abolition  of  Slavery, 
and  Benjamin  Franklin  was  made  its  president.  There  were 
other  and  similar  societies  in  different  States.  The  first  anti- 
slavery  national  convention  was  held  in  1795. 

Perhaps  the  earliest  abolitionist  intimately  connected  with 
the  anti-slavery  agitation  which  culminated  in  such  great 
results  was  Benjamin  Lundy,  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  who,  born'in  New  Jersey  in  1789,  in  1815  had  estab- 
lished an  anti-slavery  association  called  u  The  Union  Humane 
Society,"  at  St.  Glairs ville,  Va.  Lundy  wrote,  travelled, 
lectured,  and  everywhere  maintained  his  crusade  against  the  in- 
stitution. In  1821  he  started  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipa- 
tion, the  office  of  which  he  removed  to  Baltimore  in  1824. 
Having  made  the  acquaintance  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  he 
engaged  the  assistance  of  that  gentleman  in  the  editorial 
management  of  the  newspaper.  Lundy  was  the  first  to  establish 
anti-slavery  periodicals  and  deliver  anti-slavery  lectures.  It  is 
stated  that  from  1820  to  1830  Lundy  travelled  twenty-five  thou- 
sand miles,  five  thousand  on  foot,  visited  nineteen  States,  made 
two  voyages  to  Kayti,  and  delivered  more  than  two  hundred 
addresses. 

The  first  number  of  Mr.  Garrison's  Liberator  was  published  in 
Boston,  in  January,  1831.  The  history  of  the  agitation  which 
was  then  begun  has  already  been  partially  written  and  is  famil- 
iar to  many  still  living.  From  this  time  forth  to  the  bloody 
issue,  and  the  final  triumph  of  right  and  of  justice,  slavery  began 
to  be  felt  in  the  politics  of  the  country.  Undoubtedly  a  vast 
majority  of  both  the  Whig  and  Democratic  Parties  were  upon 
its  side.  Upon  the  other  there  •were  two  classes.  There  was 
that  which  would  keep  no  terms  with  slavery,  but  at  all  times 
and  seasons  yielded  not  one  jot  or  tittle,  but  demanded  its  im- 
mediate abolition.  There  were  others  who  took  more  moderate 
ground  ;  who  doubted  the  poliey  of  instant  abolition  ;  who  ad- 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS.  123 

hercd  to  the  parties  with  which  they  found  themselves  allied  ; 
but  who  nevertheless  insisted  upon  the  right  of  free  discussion 
:uid  the  right  of  petition.  The  great  champion  of  this  right  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  was  John  Quincy  Adams.  He  had 
gone  from  the  White  House  to  the  House  of  Representatives  with 
no  special  feelings  of  kindness  for  the  Southern  States  or  for  their 
political  leaders.  But  he  was  always  careful  to  declare  that  per- 
sonally he  was  not  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Dis- 
trict, while  he  deemed  the  right  of  petition  "  sacred  and  to  be 
vindicated  at  all  hazards."  His  position  must  not  be  misunder- 
1.  Asserting  energetically  the  right  of  the  petitioners  to  be 
hoard,  he  had  no  sympathy  with  their  opinions.  He  did  not 
-. .  gard  the  question  of  shivery  in  the  District  as  of  much  conse- 
•:ce.  lie  took:  no  humanitarian  ground.  Ke  fought  the 
'  >:it;le,  and  fought  it  nobly,  but  it  was  as  a  constitutional  lawyer, 
:.ad  not  as  an  abolitionist.  He  argued  the  matter  as  he  argued 
the  famous  Amis  tad  case,  upon  strictly  legal  principles.  For- 
umately  they  happened  to  be  upon  the  right  side,  und  Mr. 
A  Jams's  services  at  this  time  were  unquestionably  of  great  value 
to  the  cause  of  freedom. 

Among  the  few  who  took  an  entirely  different  ground,  and 
who  avowed  their  sympathy  with  the  prayer  of  thq  petitioners, 
was  William  Slade.  of  Vermont,  who  was  in  the  House  from 
1831  to  1843,  and  afterward  Governor  of  Vermont.  He  said, 
with  manly  precision  and  courage,  "  The  petitioners  wish  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  ;  so  do  I.  They 
wish  to  abolish  the  slave-trade  in  the  District  ;  so  do  I."  But 
protest  at  such  a  time  was  vain,  and  the  petitions  were  laid 
upon  the  table  by  a  great  majority.  Agitation  must  at  any  cost 
be  arrested.  Tranquillity  must  by  any  expedient  be  secured. 
In  the  Senate  at  the  same  time  a  similar  controversy  was  going 
on.  Singularly  enough,  the  champion  of  the  right  of  petition 
hero  was  Mr.  James  Buchanan,  who  spoke  and  voted  for  the 
reception  of  the  petitions,  though  he  also  advocutod  the  instant 


124  JSARLT  REPUBLICAN   LEADERS. 

rejection  of  their  prayer  ;  and  he  actually  succeeded,  to  the  great 
indignation  of  Mr.  Caliioun,  in  carrying  his  point.  Mr.  Morris,  of 
Ohio,  vindicated  the  right,  and  declared  that  "  no  denial  of  it 
by  Cougress  could  prevent  them  from  expressing  it.''  Similar 
ground  was  taken  by  Mr.  Prentiss,  of  Vermont.  Mr.  Websti-r, 
not  then  so  regardless  of  the  popular  opinion  as  he  afterward 
became,  advocated  the  reference  of  the  petitions  to  the  proper 
committees. 

Among  those  who  in  those  dark  days  of  Northern  subserviency 
nobly  stood  up  for  free  speech  and  a  free  press,  was  Governor 
Joseph  Ritner,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  in  one  of  his  messages  said  . 
"  Above  all,  let  us  never  yield  up  the  right  of  free  discussion  of 
any  evil  which  may  arise  in  the  land,  or  any  part  of  it."  Thad- 
deus  Stevens,  then  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the 
Pennsylvania  House,  took  ground  equally  brave  and  indepen- 
dent. The  Southern  Legislatures  had  asked  of  the  Northern 
States  the  enactment  of  laws  for  the  suppression  of  free  discus- 
sion. "  No  State,"  said  Mr.  Stevens,  "  can  claim  from  us  such 
legisjation.  It  would  reduce  us  to  a  vassalage  but  little  less 
degrading  than  that  of  the  slaves. "  But  in  no  State  can  the 
progress  of  this  great  controversy  be  more  satisfactorily 
observed  than  in  Massachusetts.  There  the  abolitionists  were 
most  uncompromising  and  determined,  and  so  respectable  were 
they  in  numbers  and  character  that  those  who  were  opposed  to 
their  opinions  and  proceedings  were  not  long  afterward  glad 
enough  to  get  their  votes  in  seasons  of  particular  emergency. 
But  Massachusetts  respectability,  taking  its  tone  from  Boston,  as 
the  tone  of  Boston  was  governed  by  its  commercial  interests,  was 
then  ready  for  almost  unconditional  surrender,  of  all  which  ic 
should  have  held  most  dear,  to  the  slave  power.  Edward  Everett 
was  Governor  of  the  State,  and  wont  so  far  as  to  suggest  that  anti- 
slavery  discussion  "  might  be  prosecuted  as  a  misdemeanor  at 
common  law."  This  part  of  Governor  Everett's  message  was 
referred  to  a  committee  of  which  Mr.  George  Lunt  was  chair- 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS.  Wi> 

man.  Before  this  committee  appeared  in  their  own  defence  such 
abolitionists  as  Ellis  Gray  Loring,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Dr. 
Charles  Follon.  Samuel  J.  May,  and  William  Goodell.  It  is 
almost  impossible  now  to  conceive  of  the  indignities  as  possible 
to  which  these  gentlemen  were  subjected  by  the  chairman,  Mr. 
Lunt.  Dr.  Folleu,  one  of  the  mildest  and  most  amiable  of  men, 
was  peremptorily  silenced.  •'  You  are  here,"  said  Mr.  Lunt  to 
Mr.  May,  "  to  exculpate  yourselves  if  you  can" — as  if  the  remon- 
strants had  be«-n  criminals  at  the  bar  of  public  justice.  Such 
treatment  excited  great  indignation  among  those  who  were  pres- 
ent merely  as  j-pectators.  Dr.  William  Ellery  Channing — the 
story  is  still  related  in  Boston — walked  across  the  room  to  offer 
Mr.  Garrison  his  hand,  and  to  speuk  to  him  words  of  sympathy 
and  encouragement.  From  that  day  the  progress  of  anti- 
slavery  opinions  in  Massachusetts  went  on  almost  without  cessa- 
tion. They  colored  and  affected  the  action  of  political  parties  ; 
they  broke  up  and  scattered  an  organization  which  had  held 
the  State  in  fee  for  more  them  a  generation  ;  they  proved  them- 
selves superior  to  all  the  reports  and  resolutions  which  such  men 
as  Mr.  Lunt  could  bring  forward  ;  they  won  for  their  supporters 
all  the  distinction  which  place  and  popular  confidence  could 
confer,  and  reduced  those  who  rejected  them  to  the  leanest  of 
minorities.  All  things  worked  together  for  good.  The  murder 
of  Lovejoy,  at  Alton  in  1837,  was  a  triumph  of  slavery  which 
proved  in  the  end  one  of  the  most  fatal  of  its  misfortunes.  It 
sent  Dr.  Channing  to  Faneuil  Hall  to  protest  against  such  an  out- 
rage upon  law  and  justice.  It  sent  there  Wendell  Phillips  to 
make  his  first  speech,  which  rendered  him  at  once  famous.  It 
created  a  public  sympathy  in  Boston  and  throughout  the  State 
which  was  never  lost,  which  the  immense  influence  of  Mr. 
Webster  was  unable  to  overcome,  and  which  prepared  the  way, 
first  for  the  Free  Soil  and  then  for  the  Republican  Party. 
Boston  conservatism  occasionally  made  a  good  deal  of  noise 
afterward,  but  it  never  carried  another  election.  "Politics," 


126  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

said  Mr.  Franklin  Pierce  about  that  time  in  the  Senate,  "  are 
beginning  to  mingle  with  that  question."  And  "  lie  profoundly 
regretted  that  individuals  of  both  parties  were  submitting  to 
the  catechism  of  the  abolitionists."  Mr.  Pierce  was  right ;  but 
there  was  a  good  deal  more  to  come. 

The  intense  hostility  of  a  portion  of  the  Northern  people  to 
the  measures  and  methods  of  the  early  abolitionists  did  not  and 
could  not  prevent  a  gradual  change  in  the  temper  and  the  opinions 
of  vast  numbers  of  reflecting  and  conscientious  men,  who  saw 
the  sole  remedy  only  in  political  action.  The  audacity  of  the 
slave  power,  never  for  a  moment  satisfied,  gave  its  friends  at 
the  North  no  opportunity  of  appealing  successfully  to  Northern 
interests.  The  most  imprudent  of  mankind  were  always  do- 
ing something  which  fanned  the  slumbering  embers  again  into 
a  blaze.  They  would  not  let  well  enough  alone.  They  would  not 
temporize  even  when  to  do  so  would  have  been  greatly  to  their 
advantage.  South  Carolina,  for  instance,  had  been  for  years  in 
the  habit  of  imprisoning  colored  seamen  during  their  detention 
at  Charleston.  Massachusetts  appointed  Samuel  Hoar,  of  Con- 
cord, the  agent  of  the  State  to  prosecute  suits  to  test  the  legality 
of  these  imprisonments.  Mr.  Hoar  was  not  only  a  gentleman 
of  great  personal  worth,  but  he  belonged  to  one  of  the  oldest 
families  in  the  State,  and  for  many  years  had  been  respected  as 
a  jurist  of  great  ability  and  integrity.  To  what  indignities  he 
was  subjected,  and  how  he  was  expelled  from  the  State,  the 
history  of  those  times  will  never  fail  to  tell.  One  result  of  this 
v,  as  to  make  abolitionists  of  a  great  number  of  highly  respect- 
able people  who  otherwise  might  never  have  been  moved  from 
t.hu  path  of  the  strictest  conservatism.  The  admission  of  Texas 
ad  a  slave  State  brought  into  the  anti-slavery  ranks,  ill-defined 
as  they  were,  great  numbers  of  persons  who  otherwise  might 
have  kept  silence  forever.  It  caused  a  meeting  of  protest  in 
Fuiieuil  Hall,  over  which  Charles  Francis  Adams  presided.  The 
:>j-:olutions  were  drawn  up  by  Charles  Sumner.  They  were  prc- 


EARLT  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS.  127 

pented  by  John  G.  Palfrey.  Garrison  and  Phillips  were  there,  and 
for  once  the  anti-slavery  men  of  the  non-political  and  the  politi- 
cal schools  worked  together.  The  matter  was  discussed  in  the 
colleges  and  the  law  schools,  in  the  factories  and  work-shops  ; 
it  was  then  that  the  great  political  revolution  in  so  many  State? 
began.  Above  all ,  it  sharply  defined  the  line  between  those  Whigs 
and  Democrats  who,  after  a  political  wrong  had  been  accom- 
plished, were  willing  quietly  to  submit,  and  those  who  thought 
that  the  wrong  should  be  a  fair  warning  figdnst  others  of  a  sim- 
ilar character.  If  the  motive  of  annexation  was  the  preservation 
of  slavery,  then  there  was  all  the  more  reason  for  watching 
slavery  closely. 

The  case  of  Mr.  Giddings  is  an  excellent  illustration  of  the 
folly  by  which  the  Whig  Party  alienated  many  of  its  best 
friends.  If  he  was  anything,  Mr.  Giddings  was  every  inch  a 
Whig.  He  clung  to  his  political  organization  when  many 
another  man  would  have  left  it  in  disgust.  lie  was,  while  Mr. 
John  Quincy  Adams  survived,  the  steady  and  able  ally  of  that 
statesman  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  But  neither  this 
nor  his  stroug  anti-slavery  sentiments  prevented  him  from 
being  a  warm  friend  and  supporter  of  Henry  Clay.  He  clung 
to  his  party  until  his  party  nominated  General  Taylor.  This 
was  a  supposed  submission  to  the  slave  power,  though  it  did 
rot  turn  out  to  be  afterward,  which,  sent  Mr.  Giddings  into  the 
Free  Soil  ranks  in  1848.  What  men  went  with  him,  and  what 
came;  of  that  movement,  even  after  it  had  to  all  appenranr 
utterly  failed,  is  well  enough  known.  No  wonder  Mr.  Gidding 
felt  that  the  North  should  have  different  men  in  tl.o  public- 
councils,  when  with  a  large  majority  it  could  not  shield  him 
from  outrages  in  the  House  to  which  the  lowest  of  men  would 
h:irdly  have  submitted  outside  of  it. 

Tho  Democratic  Party  often  exhibited  as  little  wisdom.     It 

hud  not,  for  instance,  a  stronger  and  more  able;  soldier  than  Mr. 

.   P.  Hale,  of  New  Hampshire.     Personally  very  popular,  be 


128  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

was  an  excellent  debater,  never  found  wanting  in  an  emergency, 
and  one  who  was  alike  equal  to  attack  or  defence.  He  was, 
however,  foremost  in  his  denunciation  of  the  plan  for  the  annex- 
ation of  Texas — a  measure  which  he  characterized  as  "  emi- 
nently calculated  to  provoke  the  scorn  of  earth  and  the  judg- 
ment of  Heaven."  He  had  already  been  nominated  for  the 
--.i-'xt  Congress  by  the  Democrats  of  his  district,  but  another 
Convention  was  called,  and  the  name. of  Mr.  Hale  was  taken  from 
i  he  ticket.  It  is  to  tell  the  whole  historical  story  to  say  that 
his  day's  absurd  action  made  Mr.  Hale  a  Senator  of  the  United 
States.  This  is  the  story  everywhere.  The  Whig  National 
Convention,  which  treated  with  such  utter  contempt  the  protests 
of  anti-slavery  Whigs,  was  the  last  which  met  with  any  prospect 
of  good  fortune  before  it.  The  day  was  pregnant  with  great 
events,  and  great  political  changes  were  at  hand.  The  Barn- 
burner revolt  in  New  York  assisted  in  forwarding  the  great 
reform.  There  were  yet  to  be  defeats,  and  men's  minds  were 
not  entirely  fixed  ;  but  both  great  parties  in  1848  sealed  their 
political  doom  with  suicidal  hands.  Mr.  Allen,  of  Massachu- 
setts, had  said  in  the  Whig  National  Convention,  "  It  is  evident 
the  terms  of  union  between  the  Whigs  of  the  North  and  the 
Whigs  of  the  South  are  the  perpetual  surrender  by  the  former 
of  the  high  offices  and  powers  of  the  Government  to  their  South- 
ern confederates.  To  those  term«.  I  think,  sir,  the  free  States 
will  no  longer  submit."  Mr.  Wilson  declared  that  he  would 
;  not  be  bound  by  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  ;"  and  Mr. 
Stanley,  of  North  Carolina,  with  far-seeing  sagacity,  retorted  th;:t 
he  was  "  injuring  no  one  but  himself'1 — a  declaration  which  in 
the  light  of  subsequent  events  seems  sufficiently  amusing. 

Before  the  dissatisfied  delegates  went  home  the  Buffalo  Con- 
vention was  decided  upon.  The  first  State  Convention  of  the 
new  party  in  Massachusetts  was  held  in  Worcester,  and  was  at- 
tended by  men  who  have  since  been  often  enough  heard  of—- 
by Henry  Wilson,  Charles  Francis  Adams.  Oh.-irles  Sumner,  E. 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN   LEADERS.  129 

Rooky,  aod  Hoar,  to  mention  no  other?.  The  action  of  the 
Buffalo  Convention  in  nominating  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  President 
brought  a  great  portion  of  the  Democratic  Party  to  the  new 
organization,  especially  in  Massachusetts,  and  in  that  State  the 
party  has  never  fairly  recovered  from  the  events  of  that  cam- 
paign. The  nomination  of  Charles  Francis  Adams  for  Vice- 
President  was  deemed  a  sufficient  concession  to  the  bolting 
Whigs.  It  was  a  ticket  for  an  honest  man  to  support,  although 
no  prospect  of  success  was  before  it.  The  campaign  started 
with  great  spirit  in  Ohio,  being  led  by  Chase,  Giddings,  Root, 
ami  other  distinguished  men.  The  new  party  went  through  a 
campaign  which  resulted  in  entire  defeat  and — in  victory  !  But 
it  had  cast  two  hundred  and  ninety-thousand  votes  for  freedom  : 
it  had  defeated  a  candidate  the  avowed  supporter  of  slavery  ; 
and  it  had  secured  the  election  of  another  who,  although  a 
slaveholder,  was  at  least  not  a  trimmer  and  a  doughface. 

Here  as  well  as  anywhere  may  be  considered  the  distinctive 
character  of  those  who  early  engaged  in  this  war  against  slavery 
:sion.  It  need  not  be  said  that  coalition  was  necessary,  and 
•ion  always  implies  the  co-operation  of  those  who  find  each 
other  useful,  but  who  may  be  governed  by  widely  different 
motives.  Those  who  had  conscientiously  entertained  a  hatred 
of  slavery  found  an  opportunity  of  alliance  with  others,  whose 
hostility  was  at  least  recent,  and  who  had  managed  to  get  along 
wit!  the  South  so  long  as  that  section  conceded  to  them  a  fair 
share  in  the  Government.  The  Democratic  wing  of  the  Free 
Soil  Party  made  great  pretensions  to  anti-slavery  sentiment. 
Among  those  who  were  loudest  was  John  Van  Buren,  of  New 
York.  Tie  went  so  far  as  to  say  at  Utica,  in  the  Barnburners' 
'.'o'lvention,  "  We  expert  to  make  the  Democratic  Party  of  this 
State  the  great  anti-slavery  party  of  this  State,  and  through  it 
to  make  the  Democratic  Party  of  the  United  States  the  great 
anti-slavery  party  of  the  United  States.''  Sii!>-equent  events 
••'i!'j .-,  ed  that  this  meant  very  little  save  the  desire  for  revenge 


130  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

on  the  part  of  a  son  -who  was  irritated  by  what  lie  regarded  as 
the  personal  wrongs  of  a  father.  Not  many  years  elapsed  before 
John  Van  Buren  was  again  in  the  Democratic  Party,  when  it  was 
even  more  thoroughly  than  before  the  servant  of  slavery,  with 
the  immoral  aspects  of  the  institution  more  fully  developed. 
With  him  returned  to  their  allegiance  many  thousands  of 
Democrats.  He  was  supple,  clever,  and  adroit.  As  a  plat- 
form speaker  he  had  few  equals  ;  but  that  he  was  altogether 
sincere  perhaps  it  would  be  too  much  to  say. 

No  man  is  personally  identified  more  historically  with  the 
Republican  Party  than  Henry  Wilson.  He  had  great  virtues 
and  great  faults  of  character.  His  natural  impulses  were  warm 
and  generous.  lie  had  absolute  physical  courage,  and  when 
his  passions  were  aroused  he  was  a  formidable  enemy.  He 
could  put  a  personal  injury  in  abeyance  if  he  thought  it  for  his 
advantage  to  do  so  ;  but  he  had  a  long  memory,  and  although  he 
might  forgive  he  never  forgot.  He  had  great  skill  in  party 
manoeuvre,  and  a  perfect  faith  in  party  management.  It  was 
perhaps  his  real  misfortune  that  his  first  political  successes  of 
any  importance  were  secured  by  coalitions.  It  is  true  that  many 
of  these  were  originated  by  himself,  but  he  was  not,  it  must  be 
said  in  his  defense,  the  originator  of  the  opportunity.  He  was 
perfectly  frank  in  his  avowal  of  what  he  thought  to  be  not  only 
the  expediency  but  the  virtue  of  joining  in  any  political  move- 
ment which  would  advance  his  own  political  opinions,  without 
much  regard  for  appearances.  Others  acquiesced  in  such 
bargains — Mr.  Wilson  went  farther,  for  he  believed  in  them. 
There  was  no  nicety,  no  moral  scrupulosity  in  1m  constitution. 
This  made  it  easy  for  him  to  act  with  anybody  or  everybody  ; 
and  to  this  easy  political  virtue  he  owed  his  first  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  He  joined  the  Know-Nothing  Party 
without  in  the  least  accepting  its  particular  tenets.  He  did  not 
hesitate  to  receive  Democratic  votes.  In  Massachusetts  the 
Whig  Party  was  in  his  way,  and  in  the  way  of  the  anti-slavery 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS.  131 

views  which  he  undoubtedly  entertained,  and  he  determined 
upon  its  destruction.  He  never  apologized  for  alliances  which 
others  thought  to  he  immoral.  He  was  a  leader  of  those  who 
regarded  slavery  as  sinful  and  impolitic  ;  he  himself  undoubt- 
edly shared  in  their  opinions  ;  but  he  did  not  hesitate  in  an 
emergency  to  act  with  those  whose  views  were  widely  differ- 
ent. After  his  success  was  definitely  assured  he  became  more 
independent,  and,  it  must  be  added,  more  consistent.  His 
capacity  for  public  affairs  was  of  a  first-rate  order,  and  he  had 
entirely  risen  above  the  defects  of  his  early  education.  He  was 
a  born  political  soldier,  and  did  quite  as  much  as  any  man  to 
bring  the  Republican  Party  to  compactness  and  coherence. 

Mr.  Charles  Stunner  was  of  a  character  widely  different  from 
that  of  his  colleague.  The  latter,  with  all  his  merits,  was  in- 
grain a  politician  ;  Mr.  Sumner  was  perhaps  the  worst  politician 
in  the  United  States.  While  the  struggle  which  resulted  in 
making  him  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  was  going  on  in  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature,  he  kept  resolutely  aloof  from  the 
contest,  and  neither  by  word  nor  by  deed  indicated  his 
approval  or  disapproval  of  the  coalition.  Even  when  the  pro- 
longed contest  resulted  in  his  election,  he  left  the  city  of 
Boston  that  he  might  avoid  the  congratulations  of  his  support- 
ers of  either  sort.  He  followed  wrhat  he  called  "a  line  of 
reserve."  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wilson  he  thanked  that  gentleman 
for  "the  energy,  determination,  and  fidelity"  with  which  he 
had  fought  the  battle,  and  said,  "  For  weal  or  woe,  you  must 
take  the  responsibility  of  having  placed  me  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States."  It  is  doubtful  whether  Mr.  Sumner  did  entirely 
approve  the  means  which  were  used  to  make  him  in  the  first 
instance  a  Senator  ;  but,  like  other  anti-slavery  Whigs  and 
Democrats,  he  acquiesced.  So  sturdy  a  man  as  Robert  Rantoul, 
Jr.,  accepted  a  seat  in  the  Senate  under  precisely  the  same  con- 
ditions, and  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
the  same  way.  Even  Horace  Mann  defended  the  coalition. 


132  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

Mr.  Sumner's  career  in  the  Senate  was  never  in  the  least  influ- 
enced by  the  necessity  of  conciliating  Democrats  at  home  ;  and 
long  before  his  re-election  anything  like  coalition  had,  by  the 
march  of  events,  been  made  unnecessary.  Ultimately  Mr.  Sum- 
ner's hold  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  be- 
came so  strong  that  the  efforts  of  a  petty  clique  to  unseat  him, 
could  not  under  any  circumstances  probably  have  been  success- 
ful. He  was  regarded,  especially  after  the  felonious  assault 
upon  him  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  as  a  martyr  to  the  cause.  He 
was  a  great  man  for  great  occasions  ;  and  by  long  familiarity 
with  the  business  of  the  Senate  he  became  much  more  prac- 
tically useful  than  he  was  at  first  ;  but  he  could  not  be  consid- 
ered a  popular  member,  and  there  were  those  who  thought  him 
somewhat  arrogant.  He  never  worked  well  in  the  traces  of 
party,  and  there  was  something  of  the  virtuoso  in  his  character, 
which  his  less  refined  associates  did  not  relish.  His  speeches 
were  very  carefully  prepared,  but  they  were  often  loaded  with 
learning,  and  the  more  elaborate  portions  of  them  smelt  of  lh.' 
lamp.  His  name,  however,  is  inseparably  and  most  honmui  1;, 
connected  with  the  greatest  of  events,  and  he  will  doubtless  !>u 
remembered  long  after  he  ceases  to  be  read. 

Charles  Francis  Adams  had  been  among  the  earliest  of  the 
Conscience  Whigs  of  Massachusetts.  His  distrust  of  the  Souili 
and  of  the  slaveholder  v,  a-*  natural,  for  he  had  received  a  large 
inheritance  of  family  grievances,  real  or  supposed.  None  of 
them,  however,  prevented  him  from  permitting  his  name  to  be 
used  with  that  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  he  accepted  the  nominsi- 
tion  for  the  Vice-Presidency  from  the  Buffalo  Convention  with 
perfect  complacency.  But  if  his  passions  were  strong,  hi* 
political  tastes  were  occasionally  fastidious,  and  probably  he 
never  thoroughly  relished  the  Massachusetts  Coalition.  He 
exhibited  on  many  occasions  the  same  remarkable  mixture  of 
ardor  and  conversatism  which  characterized  his  illustrious 
father.  He  could  lead  sometime**  with  special  ability,  but  h<j 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS.  133 

could  not  "be  easily  nor  often  led.  Party  harness  sat  very  easily 
upon  his  shoulders,  and  he  could  throw  it  off  whenever  he 
pleased.  But  of  the  new  party  he  was  an  invaluable  member, 
for  his  training  for  public  affairs  had  been  first-rate  ;  the  his- 
torical associations  of  his  name  were  interesting  and  attractive  ; 
he  was  veiy  wealthy  ;  and  he  was  a  master  of  political  science. 
Opposed  as  ho  was  to  the  coalition  which  elected  Mr.  Sumner, 
he  shared  that  opposition  with  Richard  II.  Dana,  Jr.,  Samuel 
Hoar,  John  G.  Palfrey,  and  some  other  eminent  Free  Soilers. 
Ultimately,  of  course,  these  differences  of  opinion  subsided  ; 
but  Mr.  Adams  has  shown,  with  other  members  of  the  party, 
that  the  same  freedom  of  judgment  which  had  led  to  its  forma- 
tion still  guided  many  of  its  choicest  spirits.  Of  the  brilliant 
career  of  Mr.  Adams,  subsequent  to  these  events,  it  is  unneces- 
sary here  to  speak.  The  present  time  finds  him  a  member  of 
that  Democratic  Party  which  he  has  so  often  and  so  bitterly 
denounced.  The  fact  is  to  be  most  pleasantly  regarded  as  evi- 
dence of  the  perfect  independence  of  his  character. 

All  the  temptations  which  led  several  prominent  Whigs  to 
repudiate  the  nomination  of  General  Taylor  in  1848  had  no 
effect  upon  Mr.  William  II.  Seward.  His  time  had  not  yet 
come,  but  it  was  well  known  that  his  political  opinions  were  of 
an  anti-slavery  color,  and  that  he  was  particularly  sensitive  upon 
the  point  of  surrendering  fugitives  from  slavery.  These  views 
began  to  develop  more  definitely  after  his  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1849.  In  the  debate  upon  the  admission 
of  California  into  the  Union  in  1850,  he  used  the  phrase  "  higher 
law  than  the  Constitution,"  a  part  of  which  has  become  prover- 
bial. He  fought  the  compromises  to  the  last.  In  his  speech  at 
Rochester  in  1858  he  had  alluded  to  the  "  irrepressible  conflict," 
and  this  phrase  also  has  become  famous,  as  well  as  the  declara- 
tion that  "  the  United  States  must  and  will  become  either 
entirely  a  slaveholding  nation  or  entirely  a  free  labor  nation." 
In  1860  in  the  Senate  he  a-vowed  that  his  vote  should  never  bt 


134  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

given  to  sanction  slavery  in  the  common  territories  of  the 
United  States,  "  or  anywhere  else  in  the  world."  His  services 
as  Secretary  of  State  during  the  Rebellion  were  of  the  first 
order,  and  especially  his  management  of  our  foreign  relations. 
Undoubtedly  his  wisdom  and  forethought  saved  us  upon  more 
than  one  occasion  from  a  foreign  war.  His  adherence  to  office 
under  President  Johnson  did  much  to  injure  his  popularity  ; 
and  pei haps  he  was  not  sorry  definitely  to  retire  from  public  life 
in  1869,  and  to  find  a  new  and  rational  pleasure  in  prolonged' 
foreign  travel.  Mr.  Seward  was  a  man  of  fine  literary  tastes,  of 
no  mean  literary  skill  ;  he  had  the  faculty  of  acquiring  and  of 
keeping  friends  ;  and  in  the  social  circle  he  was  devoted  and 
affectionate.  The  disappointment  of  his  public  life,  which  con- 
sidered altogether  was  eminently  successful,  was  his  failure  to 
secure  the  Presidency  ;  but  it  must  have  been  an  alleviation  to 
know  that  he  shared  this  with  so  many  eminent  men.  II L 
public  career  was  peculiarly  consistent,  and  perhaps  of  all  pub- 
lic characters  of  his  time  he  was  oftenest  found  upon  the  side 
of  the  oppressed  and  the  unfortunate,  even  in  cases  which  had 
no  political  significance. 

The  man  who  even  before  1846,  and  in  that  year,  argued  that 
slavery  was  local  and  dependent  upon  State  law,  was  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  of  Ohio,  and  nothing  could  be  more  astonishing  than  the 
changes  which  ultimately  placed  such  a  lawyer  upon  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  the  place  just  before  occupied  by 
Chief-Justice  Taney.  He  was  one  of  the  few  remarkable  men 
to  whom  the  old  Liberty  Party  was  indebted  for  an  existence,  to 
which  the  Republican  Party  also  owes  something.  He  was  the 
first  or  among:  the  first  to  propose  the  Free  Soil  movement  and 
the  Buffalo  Convention  in  1848,  and  over  this  body  he  presided. 
He  too  was  sent  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  a  coalition  of  Free 
Soil  members  and  Democrats  of  the  Ohio  Legislature  in  1849  ;  but 
the  Ohio  Democrats  in  their  State  Convention  had  already  de- 
clared slavery  to  be  a  national  evil,  which  rendered  the  coali- 


EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS.  135 

tion  at  least  not  absurd  and  contradictory.  Mr.  Chaso  made 
haste  to  disavow  all  connechon  with  the  Democrats  after  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Pierce  in  1852,  upon  a  pro-slavery  platform. 
With  his  record  and  strong  opinions  upon  the  subject  of  slavery 
he  came  naturally  into  the  Republican  Party,  and  into  the 
Cabinet  of  President  Lincoln  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in 
JS61.  As  Chief-Justice  of  the  United  States,  his  great  learning, 
his  sense  of  equity,  and  his  liberal  views  of  important  public 
questions  won  him  a  permanent  reputation  as  a  lawyer.  Ho 
did  not  always  agree  with  the  policy  of  the  Republican  Party, 
and  he  was  even  talked  of  as  a  candidate  of  the  Democrats  for 
the  Presidency — a  nomination  which  was  not  accorded  to  him, 
but  which  it  was  understood  that  he  was  willing  to  accept  un- 
der certain  conditions.  He  is  an  excellent  instance  of  what  the 
reader  of  this  chapter  must  have  observed — the  tendency,  dur- 
ing stormy  political  seasons,  of  really  able  men  to  cut  loose  the 
bonds  of  party  and  to  seek  in  new  affiliations  the  accomplish- 
ment of  cherished  purposes  and  the  vindication  of  profound 
convictions.  Judge  Chase,  in  his  own  State,  was  a  man  of  un- 
bounded popularity.  This  was  never  shaken  by  any  course 
which  he  thought  n't  to  pursue  ;  and  to  the  last  r>o  man  ever 
doubted  his  integrity. 

Not  as  President,  but  as  one  of  the  leaders  who  made  tho 
Republican  Party  possible,  the  career  of  Abraham  Lincoln  be- 
fore ho  was  elected  to  the  office  in  which  he  died  a  martyr  to 
his  principles,  ought  here  to  be  alluded  to.  In  Congress,  which, 
he  entered  in  1848,  he  doubted  the  constitutionality  of  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  ;  he  suggested  the  expediency  of 
abolishing  the  slave-trade  there  ;  and  he  warmly  advocated  tho 
Wilmot  Proviso.  When  the  project  for  the  repeal  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  was  brought  forward,  he  found  his  place  in 
the  great  contest  at  once.  His  platform  duels  with  Douglas  in 
Illinois  will  never  be  forgotten,  and  his  speech  at  Springfield 
utterly  demolished  the  sophistry  of  the  "  great  principle" 
which  R^ertffi  that  a  man  in  "N>br:*«kfl  mJjyht  not  only  govern 


136  EARLY  REPUBLICAN  LEADERS. 

himself,  but  also  govern  other  persons  without  their  consent. 
He  too  declared  that  no  government  could  endure  permanently 
which  was  "  half  slave  and  half  free."  How  well  he  demeaned 
himself  in  his  high  office  it  is  unnecessary  to  say.  He  gre\\ 
larger  and  larger  under  the  pressure  of  the  terrible  situation  ; 
he  was  as  tender  as  a  woman,  and  as  stern  as  a  Roman  ;  IK- 
thought,  planned,  acted,  always  with  perfect  caution,  with 
native  sagacity,  with  a  perfect  appreciation  of  the  situation.  Ii 
was  no  accident,  it  was  the  impulse  of  character  and  the 
prompting  of  the  heart  which  led  Abraham  Lincoln  into  the. 
Republican  Party,  'of  which  he  was  a  defender  and  ornament. 
In  the  most  doubtful  days,  if  there  be  a  party  which  is  on  the 
side  of  justice  and  humanity,  a  man  with  a  heart  is  sure  to  find 
it  ;  and  if  there  be  another,  its  exact  opposite,  pledged  to  op- 
pression, to  selfishness,  and  to  corruption,  the  man  without  u 
heart  is  sure  to  drift  into  it. 

In  this  chapter  many  honored  names  have  been  necessarily 
omitted.  The  object  has  been  to  refer  to  only  a  few  of  tin; 
most  prominent  as  examples  of  fidelity  to  great  principles  and 
to  ideas  worthy  of  the  support  of  the  American  people.  After 
all,  more  have  been  omitted  than  mentioned.  We  might  have 
spoken  of  Horace  Mann,  the  uncompromising  philanthropist, 
the  profound  scholar,  and  the  life-long  advocate  of  popular  edu- 
cation ;  of  John  G.  Palfrey,  who  was  among  the  first  of  Massa- 
chusetts Whigs  to  risk  all  save  the  reward  of  a  good  conscienct- 
for  the  sake  of  the  slave  ;  of  the  young  and  eloquent  Burlin- 
game,  first  known  as  a  popular  speaker,  but  who  afterward 
developed  into  a  most  able  diplomatist  ;  and  we  might  hav< 
added  something  of  the  magnetic  influence  which  drew  tli 
young  men  of  the  North  about  the  banner  of  freedom,  ami 
awakened  an  enthusiasm  which  made  the  strict  lines  and  til- 
self-seeking  policy  of  the  old  parties  distasteful  to  their  gener- 
ous natures.  Happy  will  the  nation  be  should  any  such  great 
emergency  again  arise,  if  once  more  the  old  honesty  shall  be 
j».nd  the  old  enthusiasm  stimulated  ! 


REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES. 


THE    POPULAR    AND    ELECTORAL   VOTE    AT    EACH 

PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION    SINCE   THE 

FORMATION    OF   THE 

REPUBLICAN    PARTY. 


Reduction  of  the  Public  Debt. 


138 


REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES. 


POPULAK  VOTE  OP  1856. 


STATES. 

James  Buchanan, 
Democratic. 

John  C.  Fremont, 
Republican. 

M.  Fillmore, 
American. 

Total 
Vote. 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Alabama  
Arkansas  
California.... 
Connecticut. 
Delaware.... 
Florida  

46,739 
21,910 
53,365 
34,995 
8,004 
6.358 
66,578 
105,348 
118,670 
36,170 
74,642 
22,164 
39.080 
39,115 
39.240 
52,136 
35,446 
58,164 
32,789 

195^878 
48.246 
170,874 
230,710 
6,680 
Electors 
73,638 
31,169 
1(),f,69 
89,706 
52,843 

18,187 
11,123 
*17,200 

'""20,69i 
42,715 

308 

'"5',i05 

28,552 
10,787 

36.165 
2,615 
6  175 

75.291 

110'221 
8H.3.5 
14.487 
11,191 
93.806 
238.931 
X35.431 
t9.304 
142.372 
42:  878 
H  '.1,734 
86.836 

125>53 

1,521 
1,525 
14,350 
19,159 
1,909 

'"6,9i2 
1,455 

4,833  . 

Georgia  
Illinois  

42,228 

96,189 
94,375 
43,954 
314 

07,379 
281 
108,190 
71,762 

37,444 
22,386 
9,180 
67,416 
20,709 
3,325 
47,460 
I9.6S6 
1,660 
24,195 

Iowa  
Kentucky..  . 
Louisiana.  .. 
Maine  
Maryland.  . 
Mas.-achus'ts 
Michigan  
Mississippi.. 
Missomi  
N.  H'pshirc. 
New  Jersey.. 
New  York..  . 
N.  Carolina.  . 
Ohio  
P'nsvlvania.. 
Rhode  Island 
S.  Carolina.  . 
Tennessee.  .  . 
Texas  

$7,184 
24,974 

'  8:6o4 

49,324 
17,966 

9^640 

"il',860 
"'i',025. 

48,524 
422 
•  21,115 
124,604 

88,18! 

82,175 
1,676 

laiure. 
66,178 
15,639 
545 
60.310 
679 



71.556 

B%487 
85.132 

4Jl>V.:5 

38,345 
28.338 
276,007 

'  187,497 
147,510 

11,467 
by  the 

5,134 
'  $80,129 
'  $16',623 

Legis- 

...   .. 

chosen 
7460 
15,530 

1S9.816 
4(3.808 
C0.675 
150.307 
119,513 

4,053,907 

391561 
801 

66,090 

i2',668 

:::::: 

Vermont..  .  . 
Virginia  
Wisconsin  .  . 

To»nl  
Buchanan's  P 

29,105 

1,?38,169 
lurality... 

142,353' 

t496,»05. 

1,341,264 

146,730 

874,53 

8,0644! 

*  Plurality  over  Fiilmore.  t  Plurality  over  Fremont.    J  Plurality  orcr  Bucbwiaa, 


REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES. 


139 


EL3CTOHAL  VOT3  OF  1350. 


PRES.      V.  PHE=I. 

i 

PBES.      V.  PRBS. 

0- 

•J, 

CT^TSS.     :   . 

i  ft 

•3 

STATES. 

4° 

z:1   I  I 

•s  '  -     £    ^ 

s 
2    "3 

_j 

?. 

R 

^ 
^ 

a 

o 

1  1  I 

5, 

o 

a 

S    5 

s 

a 

•->     r:      -^     Z?     3 

0 

'«    fa  '  fa    ij    Q    O 

r* 

& 

fa  fa   n  jo  jp 

1  Alabama  ..      9    ...   .      9  ..  .  ..  . 
2  Arkansas.  .      4  ...        ,     4    

»  |17  Mississippi 
4  118  Missouri.. 

7 
'i 

1... 

1 

0 

t) 

3  California..      4  ..      .       4  

4  19  N  Ilamps'e  -.  . 

5 

ri 

5 

4  Comitsctic't  ...      G  G  .  .  . 

G  20  New  Jersey 

r 

"7..: 

7 

5  "olawaru.        -'i  ......      3  

3  21  New  York.. 

33  .. 

:-">:> 

89 

G  Florid  i....      3  3      .  ..  . 

3  22  N.  Carolina    10         ...    10      . 

i  i 

7  G;'or$ri  i  10 

..     ...    10  

10  23  Ohio  23  ... 

0  . 

8  Illinois  11 

11  

11   24  Pennsylv'ia   27  

27  ... 

;; 

0  Indiana.  .  .. 

18 

1.5  

13  2.")  R  Inland  

4  .. 

4 

4 

10  Iowa  

4...'..J    4... 

4  26  S.  Carolina. 

8'   ..'... 

8  ... 

8 

11  K.-ntucky  . 

12 

13  

12  27  Tennessee.  .1  12... 

12  ... 

19 

12  Louisiana.. 

(i 

..-  ...      G  

6  2-tTt-xas  ....   !    4  ... 

4  ... 

4 

13  Main-..     . 

8  

8  .    . 

H  29  Vermont  

5 

5 

6 

14  Maryland 

8 

8 

8  30  Vir"inia. 

15 

13  .- 

13 

1">  Ma^s'chu'ts1..  . 

13  

13  ... 

13  31  Wisconsin. 

5  .. 

5 

5 

IS  Michigan... 

G  

G  ..  . 

n 

^rrs=i 





! 

Total...!  171  114     8i174ll4l     82!)!. 

140 


REP  UBLICAN  VICTORIES. 


POPtTLAB   VOTE    OP    1860. 


STATES. 

A.  Lincoln, 
Republican. 

S.  A.  Doug-     J.  C.  Breckin- 
las,                 ridge, 
Ind.  Dem.    i  Democratic.  ; 

John  Bell, 
Const.  Union. 

Total 
Vote. 

' 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Vote.    Maj.  j 

• 

Vote. 

Maj. 

! 
1;  Alabama. 
'i  Arkansas. 
3  California 
I  Connlcut 
5  Delaware. 
0  Florida... 

! 

13.651 
5,227 
38,516 
15,522 
1.'  23 
367 
11,590 
160,315 
115,509 
65,111 
25,651 

:  ,625 

26.693 
5,%6 



::::: 

48,a31    7,355 
,  28.732    3,411 
34.334  
14,641  
7,3  1: 
i     8,54:i    2,739 
51.880  t9,003 
2..104  : 
12,295  , 
1,048  
53,143  
22.681  t2,477 
6.368  
42.4r<2     •';•.'•-' 
5,939  
805 

27,825 
20,094 
6.817 
3.291 
3,864 
5.437 
42,886 
3,913 
5,30C 
1.763 
66.058 
20.204 
2.046 
41.760 



90.30T 
54,053 
118.840 
77,146 
16.S  49 
14,347 
106.365 
338,693 
272,143 
128.331 
,    146.216 
50,510 
97,918 
92.502 
•    169.173 
154,747 
34,799 
69,120 
165.518 
65.953 
121.125 
!    675.156 
%,OoO 
442,411 
12,410 
:    476.442 
19,951 

39.173 
43,692 
3,815 

*657 
10,238 

7:Georgia.  . 
SJIllinois... 
9  Indiana  .  . 
10  Iowa  
il!Kentucky 
12  Louisiana 
i:j  Maine  
M  .Maryland 
15  Mass  
if,  Michigan. 
\\  Minn'sota 
18  Mississ'pi 
19:  Missouri.. 
-f  '  N.  Hamp. 
21.  N.  Jersey. 
22  New  York 
•:3  N.  Carol'a 
-,'4  'Ohio..  .. 
io^  Oregon... 
:'0  Penn  
,r  R.  Island. 
:S  8.  Carol'a 
'0,Tenness'e 
30!  Texas 

'  Yfi'iei 

139.033 
70,409 
1,364 

62,81  i 
2.294 
106.533 
88,480 
22,069 

'if  .028 
87.5W 

58.324 
362,646 

'"5,629 
5,923 
12,487 

"27,764 

$12,915 

43.891 
88,313 

9,339 

"fl^OSS 
"56!i.36 

34.372 
65,037 
11.920 
3,283 
56,801 
25,881 
02,801 
31-2,510 
•'  701 



t  lyj 
4:477 

2;),331 
405 
62 

7J8 

40.797  12.474 
!  31.317  
j     2112      .     . 

25.040 
58,372 
441 

48,:i39       C48 
11.405  
3,006  
178,871  

44*990 

12.194 
183 
12,776 

231.610 
5.270 
96&OHO 
12.244 
Electors 

20.779      187,202 
*1,319          3.951 
59,61?         in.7f« 
4.53;          7.707 
chosen     by  the 
"11.330 

Le- 

gisla-  !  ture. 
64,709     .... 
;  47.54S  32,110 
1.969    ..   .. 
74,323  
888  

69,274 
16,48$ 
218 

i  74.681 
161 

;  $4,563 

145,333 
62,986 
42.844 
167.223 
152,180 

•JllVermont. 
'•1-2  Virginia  . 
•  -!  Wiscon'n 

|    Total... 
'Lincoln's 

33,808     24,772 
1,929'  
86,110    io.o-io 

6.849 
16,290 
65,021 

..... 

i      $353 

'l,86fi,852 
Plurality 

326,391    1,375,157 
*491,195  i 

4,477 

847,51458,737 

587,83C 

4,676,853 

1 



*  Plurality  over  Douglas,     t  Plurality  over  Bell.     $  Plurality  over  Brcckinridge. 


REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES, 


141 


ELECTORAL    VOTE   OF    1860. 


STATES. 

PRESIDENT. 

VICE-PRESIDENT. 

. 

| 

[J 

«T 

s 

'C                   '•   & 

e  >,             « 

a        3w     _•  .     1*  . 
q  _j       t  <-      *3  a       c  5 

£~     e°  :  «§    P" 

2o      d      '  3t     <° 

-4       *       ^°     -/. 

B<a 

*53 

II 

as 

ts"5 

oT 

§§ 
1-1  bo 

1! 
1  = 

Edward  Everett, 
of  Muss. 

H.  V.  Johnson, 
of  Ga. 

9 
4 

9 
4 

4 
6 
3 
3 
10 
11 
13 
4 
12 
6 
8 
8 
13 
G 
4 
7 
9 
5 
7 
35 
10 
23 
3 
27 
4 
8 
12 
4 
5 
,     15 
5 

303 

2  Arkansas        4                      

3  California  

4       

4 

• 

5  Delaware      .  .     ........       3      

3 
3 

6  Florida       8     

7  Georgia 

10      

10 

8  Illinois           

11           

11 
13 

9  Indiana         

13      

10  Iowa 

4 

11  Kentucky  .        .  .                       .       VZ       ... 

12 

Q 

13  Maine  8      

8 

14  Maryland         ...        .              8      

8 

15  Massachusetts  13      

13 

5 

16  Michigan              .6 

17  Minnesota  .                   4      i 

18  Mississippi    7      

. 
7 

19  Missouri         .                             9 

9 

20  New  Hampshire.           5      . 

5 
4 

35 

21  New  Jersey  4    '•  3    \ 

3 

22  New  York 

S5 

S3  North  Carolina  ..      10      !. 

io     . 

24  Ohio       ....              23      ...      .                   t  .    aa    ' 

25  Oregon        .  .       .  .         3       

3 
27 

4 

26  Pennsylvania  27    :  1  

1 

27  Rhode  Island.   . 
28  South  Carolina 

4                .     . 

8 

8 

29  Tennessee  12      

12 

30  Texas      4 

4 

31  Vermont  5       1 

5 

32  Virginia  15    1 

15 

83  Wisconsin  !      5    :  .   .. 

5 

Total  

180     !     72     |    39         12 

180 

72        39    '     12 

142 


FOPULAK   VOTE    OF    1864. 


STATES. 

Abraham  Lincoln, 
Republican. 

Gco.  B  McClellan, 
L>euiocrauc. 

Tofil 
Yale. 

Vote. 

Majority.' 

Vote. 

Majority. 

Alabama*  

Arkansas*  

Cnliionii'i   

C2.1S4 
44,<591 

18,593 
2.406 

43,841 
42.285 
8,71,7 

105.975 
f  0,9To 
10,922 

Connecticut        

013 

Kloridu*                   

Georgia*  I  

Illinois  

189,496 
1.  '0,422 
89.075 
16.441 

27,7'SS 

30.70U 
20.189  i 
8!>,4T!) 
12.750  j 

158,730 
130,233 
40,590 
3,091 
64,801 

348.220 
2SO,<;55 
13S.071 
20,131 
SB.QS7 

(iitiiiu.u  

Iowa  

"sb.sis" 

Kansas.  .   ..   ,  

Kentucky  .    

Louisiana.*..,  

Elaine      

G  1,803 
40,153 
1-26,742 
!i  1,521 
25,000 

iV,693 

7,414  ! 
77,997 
10,917 
7,085 

44,211 
32  739 
4S  745 
74,604 
17.375 

1..  0.014 

Maryland   

72J98 

175.487 

10«.1i5 

Massachusetts  

M  iiim>otrt  
Mt>*issippi*  

42,435 

Missouri  

12,750 
9,  26 
£0,400 
00723 
568,755 

41.072 
3.232  ! 
3,529 

0,749' 

31.078 
0.591 
32.871 
68,024 
861,986 

104.428 
16,4£0 

OO.'ol 

128.747 
7.JO,7~'1 

Nevada                

New  Hampshire  

N  i  w  Jursc  y  
New  York 

7,301 

Norih  Carolina*  

Ohio  

2(i5.  i:  4 
9,888 

293,301 
13,093 

59,5t-(i 
1,431 
20.075 
5,222 

205,508 
8.457 
£76,310 
K470 

'     47.1,722 

Oregon  

18,345 

Pennsylvania  

572,707 
22,102 

South  Carolina*  

:  Tennessee*  

;'fexas*  -  

Vermont       

.     42,419 

£9,098 

13,321 

.",7-W 

Virginia*  

Wei-t  Virginia  
Wisconsin  

Total    .. 

23,152 
83,458' 

"52.714 
17,574 

10.4S8 
05.884 

-r.:3.5GO 
149,342 

2.210,067 

451.770 
407.342 

1,808,725 

44,428 

4,024,792 

Lincoln's  Majority. 

The  eleven  States  marked  thus  (*)  did  not  vote. 


VICTORIES. 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF    1864. 


PRESI- 

V.PRE- 

STATES. 

PBCTJ. 

V.  PKE- 

UENT. 

SIDE'T. 

BENT. 

blDENr. 

<-i 

. 

O 

Hi 

c|o 

£ 

s 

Vi 

c 

't 

e  * 

^ 

0 

fr 

r=l° 

j. 

STATM. 

•"" 

c 

«H 

S 

0 

^ 

g 

t 

0   2 

,    «> 

0  = 

y   a! 

s? 

-  - 

j. 
$ 

I 

I,| 

•5  § 

f 

c  !-s     . 
*    5    - 

o  — 

C   f, 

U 

| 

^S    _• 

ciS 

u 

a 

-   « 

3!« 

s 

S  2 

a     o 

15 

K 

3 

i^   -HH      ^ 
^.'      —       O 

!S 

<:o 

> 

< 

O 

K»;H 

< 

- 

>• 

<  e>  i  H 

11  Alabama  

p 

8     8 

20 

Missouri  

11 

11 

B 

5     5  21 

0 

1 

g 

1 

a 

3;Calitornia  

5 

r,  .. 

...ji  5  22  N.  Hampshire.. 

B 

B 

5 

4  \  Connecticut 

6 

..     6  23 

New  Ji*mev  .  . 

p1 

7 

5  Delaware.  

3 

,; 

3 

.     3  24  New  York.".  . 

83 

8i 

33 

6  Florida      

3 

.     3    3  ar, 

X      CjimlilllL 

<) 

') 

7  Georgia  

Ml'.! 

9     9  20  Ohio   .... 

21 

"1 

"1 

8  Illinois  

18 

.     if. 

.  .    16   27  Orcwni      

o 

8 

<t 

9  Indiana  

13 

13 

13  28 

Pennsylvania.. 

2'j 

90 

10  Iowa        

8 

6 

8  29 

Hhndn  T.-ilnnil 

4 

•  1 

4 

11  Kansas  

8 

3  30  South  Carolina 

r, 

(; 

6 

12  Kentucky  

11 

11 

11   31  Tennessee  

10 

HI 

13  Louisiana  .  . 

j 

7 

7  32 

TeTHs 

o 

c, 

14  Maine  

7 

7 

7  33  Vermont... 

fl 

5 

:> 

15  Maryland  

7 

7 

..     734 

Virginia... 

10 

.     =10 

10 

16  Massachusetts.. 

12 

12 

12  35  W.  Virginia  

^:v. 

B 

17  Michigan 

8 

S 

81  3fi 

Wisconsin  

8    - 

>;                n 

18  Minnesota  

4 

4 

4 

7 

Total  

212 

21 

81  j  212 

.21 

81 

314 

19  Mississippi  

7 

144 


REPUBLIC  AX   VICTORIES. 


POPTTLAH  VOTE  OP   1868. 


STATES. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant, 
Republican. 

. 
Horatio  Seymour, 
Democratic. 

Total 
Vote. 

Vote. 

Majority. 

Vote. 

Majority. 

1<  Alabama  

76,366 
22,112 
54.583 
50,995 
7,623 

4,278 
3,034 
506 
3,043    | 

72,088 
19,078 
54,077 
47,952 
10,980 
the  Legis- 
102.722 
199,143 
166,980 
74.040 
13,990 
115.890 
80.225 
42.460 
62.357 
59.408 
97,069 
28,075 

148.454 
41,19" 
108,«>i> 
98.947 
18,603 

2  Arkansas  

3:California  

4  Connecticut.  . 

5  Delaware  

3,357 
lature. 

45,588 

6  Florida  

Electors 
57,134 
250,303 
176,548 
120,399 
31,048 
39,566 
33,263 
70,493 
30,438 
130,477 
128,550 
43,545 

choseu  by 

7'Georgia  

159.856 
449,446 
343.528 
194,439 
45,038 
155,456 
113,488 
112.953 
92,795 
195,885 
225,619 
71,620 

SDlinoii  

51,160 
9.568 
46,359 
17,058 

28,033'  " 

9  Indiana  

10  Iowa  

11  Kansas  

12  Kentucky  
IS'Louisiana  
14  Maine  

76.324 
46,962 

15  Maryland. 

31,919 

16  Massachusetts  
1?  Michigan  

77.069 
31,481 
15,470 

18  Minnesota  
19  Mississippi  

20  Missouri  
21  Nebraska  

86,860 
9,729 
6,480 
38,191 
80.131 
419,888 
96,789 
280,223 
10.961 
3-12,280 
12,993 
62,301 
56,628 

21,232 
4,290 
1,262 
6,967 

12,168 
41,617 

28,898'  ' 
6,445 
17,064 
30,499 

65,628 
5,439 
5,218 
31,224 

&s,ooi 

429.883 
84,601 
238,606 
11.125 
,       313,382 
6,548 
45,237 
28,129 

152,486 
15,168 
11,698 
69,415 
163,132 
849,766 
181,370 
518.829 
22.086 
055,652 
19,541 
107,538 
82,757 

22  Nevada  

23  New  Hampshire.. 
24  New  Jersey  
25'Nfiw  York....     . 
2ti  North  Carolina.  .  . 
27  Ohio  

2,870 
10,000 

28  Oregon  
2!)  Pennsylvania  
30  Rhode  Island  .  .  . 
31  South  Carolina.  .  . 
."2  Tennessee. 

164 
s 

33  Texas  

34  Vermont  

44,167 

32,122 

12,045 

56,212 

35  Virginia  

3(5  West  Virginia.  .  .  . 
37  Wisconsin.    . 

29,175 
108,857 

8,869              20,306 
24,150              84,707 

49,481 
193,564 

Total  

3,015,071 

522,642 
305,456 

,    2,709,613 

217,184 

5,724,684 

Grant's  Maioritv 
^       3'   

14; 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF   1868. 


PRESI- 

V.-PRE- 

STATES. 

PRESI- 

V.-PBE- ! 

DENT. 

SIDENT. 

DENT. 

SIDENT. 

L 

I 

• 

1     .          ; 

! 

"™  +r 

o 

-;       .• 

•    j  C 

STATES. 

rl      K 

0     :0 

a 

*s 

•5    o^ 

M      ^ 

fills 

o 

'5  !  0 

1  I  i 

tT 

x"    '5 

i 

C5    '  5.1  ^ 

a 

«  «e 

C3      P,  9 

,2    pa  o 

yj    co  i  5 

o 

fc  8 

3 

oa   a  g 

6  i*<[S| 

1 

.     CJ 

P    W 

> 

02 

frt  > 

p    B> 

ai  ,fe 

> 

^ 

Alabama  

J 

8 

8 

an 

Missouri.  .  . 

11  .. 

1 

11 

Arkansas  

5  . 

5 

5  21  (Nebraska  

3  ..  .. 

3  .. 

8 

California.  — 

5  .. 

5 

5  52  Nevada  

3  ..  .. 

3  .. 

3 

Connecticut.  .. 

fi 

fi 

6  !23 

N.  Hampshire. 

5.     .. 

5  .. 

5 

Delaware  :         3 

3 

3  124 

3  25 

New  Jersey  ,  .  . 

;  7 

33 

Florida  a 

g 

New  York.     .  .         33! 

.    33 

Georgia  

i  9 

9  .. 

9  2(5 

16  2V 

N.  Carolina..  ..      9  ..  :  . 

9  .. 

21 

Illinois  

16  '.. 

16 

Ohio  21  ..  .. 

21  .. 

Indiana  

13 

13 

13  28 

Ores-oil.                      :  a.  .             3 

8 

Iowa  

8 

8 

8  29'PeuTisylvania.     26       .       26.. 

Kansas  

3  . 

8 

3  30  Khode  Island.  .     4  ....       4  .  . 

4 

Kentucky  

...  11 

...11  .. 

11  31  South  Carolina 

6  ....  ^     6  .. 

6 

Louisiana  

7 

7  32  Tennessee  

10  '..:.. 

10  .. 

10 

Maine      .  . 

19 

7 

7  133 

Tfixns 

G 

(i 

f, 

Maryland  

f 

r> 

7  J34  Vermont  

5  ..       '      5  . 

Massachusetts 

Michigan  

12.. 

8  .. 

is 

8 

•• 

12  fe  Virginia.  ..  .. 

8  !3H  West  Virginia. 
4  8/1  Wisconsin  

10 

"5  .'  '. 
8  .. 

10 

10 

1     K 

Minnesota    ... 

4  .. 

4 

Mississippi  

7 

7 

7 

.  \  •_ 

Total  

2148023 

214  80  23  Hi  ; 

1_J 

„, 

i            iii 

140 


REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES. 


POPULAR  VOTE   OP    1872. 


STATES. 

U.  S.  Grant, 
Republican. 

H.  Greeley, 
Dem.  &  Lib.  Rep. 

O'Co- 
nor, 
Dem. 

Black. 
Tempo-; 

ranee. 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Vote. 

Maj. 

Vote. 

Vote. 

Alabama.. 
Arkansas  . 
Ciililornia. 
Conn'icut. 
Delaware  . 
Florida... 
Georgia.  .  . 
Illinois  ... 
Indiana. 
Iowa  
Kansas  .  .  . 
'Kentucky. 
Louisiana. 
Maine  
Maryland. 
Mass  
Michigan.. 
jMiimVotu. 
Mississ'pi. 
Missouri.  . 
Nebraska  . 
Nevada  .  .  . 
!N.  Hump.. 
IN.  Jersey. 
New  York 
N.  Carol  'a. 
[Ohio  
Oregon  — 
Perm  
R.  Island.. 
S.  Carol'a. 
Tenness'e. 
Texas  
Vermont.  . 
Virginia... 
w.  Virg'a. 
Wisconsin 

Total.... 
Grant's  M 

90,272 
41.373 
54,020 
60,688 
11,115 
17,763 
62,550 
241,941 
18:>,147 
331,500 
67.04S 
88,766 
71,668 
61.422 
66,700 
1&J.472 
138,455 
55,117 
82.175 
119,198 
18,829 
8:413 
87,168 
91,656 
440.736 
94,789 
281.852 
11.  SI!) 
849,589 
13,665 
72.290 
85,d.:5 
47,406 
41.481 
93,408 
32.315 
104,!I97 

10,828 
3,446 
12,234 
4,348 
422 
2,330 

'  '53,948 
21,098 
58,149 
S3.  482 

W.444 

37,927 
40.718 
45,880 
10,206 
15,427 
76,856 
184,938 
163,639 
71.196 
32,970 
99,995 
57.029 
29,087 
67,687 
5.9.260 

• 

i,068 
204 
487 

"'266' 

9,806 

4.000 
3.058 
1,417 

2,221 
590 
2,374 

8,855  : 

14,634 
12.335 

908 

19 

74,212 
55.908 
20,0!J4 

34,887 

'  'lO,517' 
2,177 
5,444 
14.570 
51.800 
24.075 
34.208 
3,517 
135.918 
8336 
49,400 
•«•  • 

29.961 
1.772 
2,264 
17,686 

78.355 
34,423 
47,288 
161,434 
7.812 
6,286 
31,424 
76,4:6 
357,281 
70,094 
244.321 
7^730 
212^41 
5,329 
22,703 
94,391 
00.5(;0 
10.927 
91,654 
29,451 
86,477 

2,861 

i,27i 

29,809  ! 

2,429 

100 
030 
1,454 

200 

"'sioi' 

\  . 

1,103 
572 

2,100 

1,630 

187 

8,736 
16,595 

2.499 
593 

42 

600 
834 

3,597,070     825,326 
ajority  727,975 

2,834,079 

74,709 

29,408 

5,608 

REP  UBL1CAN   V1VTORIE& 

ELECTORAL   VOTE   OP    1872. 


14? 


STATXS. 

riiESlOE.NT.                       YlCE-PlSESIDEXT. 

3  j  Ulysses  S.  (irnnt.  of  111. 

A.  Ilemlricks,  of  I  ml. 

(irat/.  IJrown.  of  Mo. 

.1.  .lenkiiis,  of  <;a. 

Davis,  of  Illinois. 

)t.  Counted. 

\Vilson,  of  Maes. 

G.  I'.rown.  </f  .Mo. 

=' 

Colqiult.  of  (ia. 

'o 

"5 
^ 

.2: 
/*»  ®    •• 

|  |  f 

N.  1'.  Hunks,  of  Mass. 

Nor  Ommed. 

=  -  y  *  C5 

E- 

»0,fi 

*  |  ;  H  •  « 

3  <  *  i-  ?  f 

Alabama  

10 

1 

Arkansas  

0 

B 

0 

Connecticut  <> 

i; 

Delaware 

3 

...      ,i 

Florida     .. 

A 

(Joor"iii  

f, 

i 

'3 

5 

5 

! 

1 

Illinois  ;  21 

"      15 

Jowa    11 

11 

Kansas  5 

r,   .. 

Kentucky  

8 

4 

, 

8 

"          1 

Louisiana  

6 

8 

7 

Maryland       ..   . 

8 

b 

. 

Massachusetts  V. 

It     . 

5 

R 

M  iss.Miri 

fi 

i 

1 

6 

B 

3 

1       .. 

Nebraska     '     3    .  . 

3 

Nevada  

3 

^TTT   - 

NL'W  Hampshire 

5 

New  J'-rsey  

9 

0    . 

..!.. 

New  York  

35      . 

P.3 

1 

North  (,'aioliua  .. 

10      . 

10    .. 

Ohio    

*? 

92 

Oregon 

3 

Pennsylvania  . 

89 

Rhode  Island     

4 

• 

4 

7 

,    7 

Tennessee  

V? 

1° 

• 

TCKSIS           ... 

S 

B 

. 

Vermont 

r, 

5 

Virginia          

11 

11 
5 

West  Virginia  .  . 

B 

Wisconsin  

10 

10 

Total... 

286   4218 

o 

1  17   '^:     <"    7 

1           1 

1        1,4 

;  3 


148 


REP  UBLICA  X   I '1C  TORIES. 


POPULAR   VOTE  OF   1876. 


STATES. 

1 

S.  J.  Tiiden,     ' 
Democratic. 

K.  B.  Hayes, 
Republican. 

Peter  cooper, 
C.n-rnhack. 

(..  <  .  Smith. 
Temperance. 

=          Total 
S3          Vote. 

1 
cc 

Vote. 

Maj.   ' 

Vote. 

Maj.  ' 

Alabama.  .. 
Arkansas... 
California  . 
Colorado.  .  . 
Connecticut 
Delaware.  . 
Florida  ... 
Georgia  
Illinois  
Indiana.  .  .  . 
Iowa. 

10-2,002 
58,071 
70.4tio 
Electors 
61  ,934 
13.381 
22,988 
130.088 
258.601 
213,52() 
112.099 

^.772 
19,113 

cboeeuj 

1.732 
2,629 

68.230 
38,669 
79,269 
liy    Leins- 
59,034 
10,752 
23  849 
50.446 
278,232 
208,011 
171.327 
78.322 

75!  135 
66.SCO 

150,068 
166.534 
72,962 

103,517 

108,41'i 
330,698 

15,206 
884,192 

1.-.767 
9i;87C 
B9,56( 
44.80T 
44.09S 
85.55S 
45J.69J 
130,66f 

latnre. 

47 

170.232 

97.029 

19      155.800 

774 

878 

36      122,156 
24,133 

920 

79.642 
5,515 

1S0.53J 

1.971 

50,191 
32,511 

17,233 
9.533 
9,001 
7,776 
1,944 

83 

779 
»,060 

•2..-;  11 

141 

286.     554,493 
431.  070 

36 
110 
818 

"     10 
84 
706 
78 

..    ..       292,463 
23       124,133 
259  60** 

37.902 

Kentucky.  . 
I/  iiisiana. 
Maino  

' 
Sli   8OUI1.. 

N  <.•>.';';•  :i  ."." 

N.  H's.'shin 
New  Jersey 
New  York 
X.  Carolina 
Ohio    
Oregon.  .    . 
Pcnnsylv'a 
Rhode  Isl'd 
S.  Carolina. 

Texas  
Vermont.  .  . 
Virginia. 
W.  Virginia 
Wisconsin.. 

Total 
TBden'ftHi 

159,680 
70.508 

•!'l  s-23 
91,780 
108.771 
141,095 

48,7(19 
112.173 
203,077 

9,808 
88,609 

115,902 
521,919 
125,427 
323,182 
14.149 
366.158 
10.712 
90.C06 
133,166 
104.755 
20.254 
1  39,670 
5MM 
123,927 

4,627 
15,814 

'40'.  423 
15.542 
21,180 

145.C43 

..    .. 


71 
....       I24.J44 
l«4.77fl 

26^568 
17,010 

1,075 

2,954 

04         97      ::.M  ',(>:•• 
:«  r*.| 

re 

71-2 
1,987 

*o  134 

!:;  ,      Seal  .x:;l 
8,859    1.8C8  1,017,?30 
233  844 

2,747 
547 
9,375 
4,947 
964 

3.057 
510 
7,187 

68 

76      058.64'' 
29  865 
1,319         83      758,809 
f.n  26.627 
....  •     182.77'6 

59^955 

.       222.7  32 



149,555 

,  23,838 

64.346 

44,112 
12,384 

235.228 

1.373 

100.526 

'     5,205 

1.5C9 

27 

256,131 

4.284,757 
jority  

545  672 
156,909 

4,0:53,900!  248,501 

j 

81,740 

9,522    2,636  |  8,412,605 

REPUBLICAN  VICTORIES. 


U9 


ELECTOR  A.L  VOTE   OF   1876. 


PRESI-  jj  p^g~ 
DENT.       ™*sl 

PENT:  '{£|- 

| 

i! 

£ 

n~      S" 

i 

STATES. 

£       tS 

fr    *    !§hJ 

"3 

o 

1  . 

STATES.         9 
|o 

J   -ij*   • 

0 

•o 

W3 

^r, 

^&5 

f-Oflfc   ^fc 

013 

M 

*-a»-i 

<% 

•si"     * 

<*•' 

S 

«° 

05° 

£° 

^=    £ 

P5     as       ^ 

tl° 

Alabama.  .  .  . 

10 

10 

10  ! 

«1 

Missouri.... 

1B  li.. 

15 

1 
15 

Arkansas.  .  .  . 

6 

6 

6  122:  Nebraska  

3                 3 

California  

6 

6 

6  23  Nevada  

3  :::. 

3 

3 

Colorado 

8 

8 

3  24 

N.  H'inoshire     s 

5 

5 

Connecticut.. 

6 

6 

6 

25  '  New  Jersey./ 

o 

! 

9 

9 

Delaware  

a 

a 

3  |26 

New  York.  .  .             as     . 

35 

35 

Florida*  

4 

4    .  . 

4  a;  N.  Carolina..    .       16     . 

10 

10 

^Qeor^ia. 

11 

11 

11  as 

Ohio  .  .  . 

29 

22 

Illinois  

21 

21 

21   29|Oresron*  a 

3 

0 

Indiana 

15 

i* 

is  ;Sfi 

Pennsylvania 

29 

!  29  ' 

CM) 

Iowa 

11 

ii            !  iT  'ai1  Rhode'  Island. 

4 

4 

Kansas  

5 

5 

5  82  8.  Carolina*.. 

7 

7  1... 

7 

Kentucky  

12 

12     1'2   33 

Tennessee  

12 

...      12 

12 

Louisiana*. 

8 

8 

8  34 

Texas   .  . 

Q 

R 

Maine  

7 

7 

7'  35:  Vermont.  .. 

5 

5 

....       5 

Maryland  

8 

...      8 

8  36 

Virginia..    . 

11 

11 

11 

Massaeh'setts 

13 

13    .... 

18  37  W.Virginia.. 

5 

; 

5 

5 

Michigan    .  .  . 

11 

11    . 

11  38 

Wisconsin.... 

10 

..   .      10      .. 

10 

Minnesota  

5 

5    .... 

5 

Mississippi  8 

....      8 

8,, 

Total  i!85    184     1F5   184 

369 

*  From  Florida  two  »ets  of  certificates  w*re  received  ;  from  Louisiana,  three  :  from  Oreer.n,  t-wo ;  and 
from  South  Carolhiv  two.  They  were  refcned  to  an  Electoral  Commission,  formed  umder  the  yir^visiona 
of  the  Compromise  Bill,  approved  J»nuar>'29th,  18"7  ;  the  Commission  decided  in  favor  of  counting  th» 
Electoral  Vote,  as  returned  in  the  table. 

Number  of  Counties  in  each  State  and  Territory  in  1878. 


IjAlabama 

3  Arkansas 

3  California 

4  Colorado 

S'Connecticut 

6  Delaware 

7Floricla 

8  Georgia 

9  Illinois 

10  Indiana 

11  Iowa  

12  Kansas 

13  Kentucky 

14  Louisiana 

15  Maine 

16  Maryland.  

17  Massachusett*  . . 

18  Michigan 


67  191  Minnesota  

71   37 
75  38 
115: 
62 
14 
10 
21 
60 
94     1 
88    2 
23     3 
67     4 
5     5 
33     6 
94     7 
151     8 
14 
105 

West  Virginia  

54 
60 

2299 

6 
34 

10 
10 
12 
20 
24 
S 

121 

74  20  Mississippi. 

Wisconsin    

52  21  Missouri  

Total  Counties... 
TERRITORIES. 
Arizona  

30  ai  Nebraska  

8  83  Nevada. 

3  i4  New  Hampshire  .... 
39  25  New  Jersey  

137  26  New  York  

102  27  North  Carolina  
92  28  Ohio     .    . 

Dakota    

99  29  Oregon  

Idaho  

76  30  Pennsylvania      ... 

Montana 

117  31  Rhode  Island  
58  32  South  Carolina  
16  33  Tennessee 

New  Mexico  

Utah  

Washington  

23  34  Texas  

Wyoming  

14  35  Vermont          .  .  . 

Total  

76  36.  Virginia  

150  REPUBLIC  AX  VICTORIES. 

BEPTJBLICAN   FINANCIAL  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

OFFICIAL  TREASURY  STATEMENT,  SHOWING  THE  ANNUAL  REDUCTIONS  IN  THE 
Principal,  Interest,  AND  Per  Capita  AMOUNT  OF  THE  Public 
Debt,  FROM  1865  TO  1880. 


Total  interest- 
bearing  debt. 

Annunl  in- 
terest cliarge. 

Debt  on  which 
interest  lias 
ceased. 

Debt  bearing 
no  interest. 

1853                

2,231,311,918  £9 
2  38V  30.294  96 
2.332,331,207  CO 
2,248.007,387  06 
2.202.08rf,7'27  CD 
2.162.060,528  3'J 
2  048,455.722  39 
1.934,696.750  00 
1,814794.100  00 
1.710,483,950  00 
1.738.930.750  00 
1.722,670,300  00 
1,  710,085,450  00 
1,711,888,5(10  00 
1,794.735  6"0  00 
],  797.643,700  00 
1,7X8,998,100  00 

137.742,617  43        1.245,771  20 
150.977.C97  87        l,r.03.020  09 
1-10,068.196  £9           £35.002  05 
138,892,451  39        1.840.015  01 
3i8.459.51i8  14        1,11)7,340  89 
125.523,998  34        5,260.181  00 
118,784,!I60  S4        3,70S.CU  00 
111,049,33050         l,94S.f,02  26 
103.988.463  00        7,92fi.7!i8  £6 
98.049.804  00:      51.929.710  26 
08,796.004  50        3.216.590  26 
96.855.C90  50       11.  425.820  20 
95.10-1,209  CO'        3.91)2.420  S6 
93.1CO,6I3  50       16,648.860  26 
94,654,472  50!        5,594.500  26 
83,773,77850:      87,015,13026 
79,633,981  00,        7,021,455  26 

458.0S0.180  25 
461,610.311  Bl 
439.909.874  04 
428,218,101  20 
408,401.782  (1 
421.131,510  55 
430,508  064  42 
416.503,080  00 
<30.t8D.431  52 
472,009.332  94 
509.543,128  17 
498,182.411  69 
465  807.1EG  89 
470.764.0S1  84 
455.875.08  3  S7 
410.835.  74  1  70 
388.800.815  37 

1385—  Aug.  8d  
18G6—  July  1st.... 
1807  

ISfiS  . 

I860  

18(0  
1871  

1872  

1873  

1S7-1  
13  o           .... 

1876  

1877  

1878        

1879     

1880        

Outstanding 
principal. 

Cash  in  the     Total  debt,  less 
Treasury              cash  in 
July  1.              Treasury. 

Population 
of  the 
United  States. 

Debt 
per 
capita. 

Interest 
per 

capil; 

1865..  2,680,647,869  74 

5,832.012  982,674,815.850  76 

34,748,COO 

7;;  ro 

3    : 

•SC5-  2.844  ,6J9,6i6  56 

88,218,055  13  2.756,  31.571  43 

3.3,228.COO 

78  £5 

4     • 

>XG—  2,773.230,173  69 

137.200.0t!)  85  2,G36,<  30.103  84 

85,469.000 

74  82 

4     - 

•«7.  12,678126.108  87 

169,974,892  182,508,151,211  09 

36,211,000 

C9  gii 

3     : 

H<;n..  12,611.  GS7.851  19 

130,834.437  96  2.480,853.413  2-3 

86.973.000 

C7  10 

3     - 

I3«0..  2,.".8S,452,j:13  94 

155,680,otO  fa  2,432,7  7  1,873  09 

37  7oO.OOO 

G-i  43 

3     : 

>-rO..  2.480.072427  81 

149.502.471  00  2,331.169,956  21 

38.558,371 

CO  40 

3  08 

ten..  2,353,211.3^2  32 

100.217.203  65  2,246.994.008  07 

39.555.000 

EG  81 

2    3 

;  -12..  2.253.251.328  78 

103.4rO.7U3  432.149.780,530  35 

40.004,000 

B2  <'3 

2    (i 

::;:;..  2.234.482,993  20 

129.020.  !)!i  45  2.105.462.060  75 

41.704000 

to  4:) 

2    5 

•Sr-!..  2,251,690.408  43 

147,541.314  742,104.149,153  G9 

42,8."G,000 

49  10 

2     1 

1873.;  2.232,284.531  95 

142,243,361  822.090.041.170  13 

44.060,000 

47  4-1 

2  19 

1376..  2.180,395.067  15 

119.4ii9.726  702,060,925,840  45 

45.316.000 

45  48 

2  10 

1877..  2,205.801,393  10 

186.025,960  73  2,019.275.431  37 

46,624.000 

43  31 

2  GO 

1878..;2,256,205.892  53 

256,823,612  08  1.999  3S2.280  45 

47,983.000 

41  C7 

I  97 

1679..,  2.  245  495,072  04 

249,0-0.167  01  1,99->.414.905  03 

49,395  000 

40  42 

1  C9 

1880..  '2,120,415,370  63 

201,088,622  88  1,919,326,747  75 

50,858,000 

37  74 

1  5fi 

LIFE    OF 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD 


OF    OHIO. 


LIFE  OF 

JAMES    A.  GABFIELD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH     AND     ANCESTRY. 

PROBABLY  it  was  the  rather  German-looking  fare  of  General 
Garfield  that  led  a  German  paper  in  St.  Louis  to  trace  for  him 
a  Teutonic  ancestry,  by  an  ingenious  etymological  study  of  his 
name.  What  his  forefathers  were  in  remote  times  nobody 
knows,  for  the  household  traditions,  like  those  of  most  New 
England  families,  do  not  go  beyond  the  Atlantic.  The  name 
seems  to  be  broadly  English  enough,  in  spite  of  the  possibility 
of  its  being  a  corruption  of  Garf elder,  or  Gerbef elder,  to  be  fol- 
lowed back  to  an  Anglo-Saxon  source,  and  we  shall  doubtless 
hear  before  long  of  an  abundance  of  remote  English  cousins 
ready  to  claim  kinship  with  the  Republican  candidate.  There 
is  nothing  like  a  nomination  for  the  Presidency  to  broaden  a 
man's  family  ties.  But  whether  the  original  stock  be  Anglo- 
Saxon  or  Teutonic,  the  American  offshoot  is  as  free  from  any 
foreign  grafts  as  the  purest  Puritan  blood  of  New  England. 

On  both  his  father's  and  his  mother's  side  General  Garfield 
comes  of  a  long  line  of  New  England  ancestry.  The  first  of  the 
American  Garfields  was  Edward,  who  came  from  Chester.  Eng- 
Inuu,  tn  Massachusetts  Bay  as  early  as  1630,  settled  at  Wnter- 


15-i  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

town,  and  died  June  14th,  1672,  aged  ninety-seven.     His  son, 

:~'lward,  Jr.,  had  two  wives  ;  first  Rebecca ,  the  mother  of 

ill  his  children,  and  second,  Joanna,  the  widow  of  Thomas 
Buckniinster,  of  Muddy  River  (Brookline),  and  the  maternal 
.•mcestor  of  Colonel  Joseph  Buckminster,  of  Barre,  who  com- 
manded a  regiment  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  where  he  ac« 
quired  a  reputation  for  prudence  and  bravery.  Edward  Gar- 
field,  Jr.,  died  in  1672,  and  his  inventory  amounted  to  £457  :  3  :  6. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  proprietors  of  Watertown,  and  was 
selectman  in  1638.  1655,  and  1652. 

His  son,  Captain  Benjamin  Garfield,  born  in  1G43,  admitted 
freeman  in  1600,  was  representative  of  Watertown  to  the  Great 
and  Genera]  Court  nine  times  between  1689  and  1717  ;  and 
he  held  numerous  municipal  appointments.  He  had  two 
wives,  Mehitabel  Hawkins  and  Elizabeth  Bridge,  and  eight 
Children  ;  by  the  second  wife  he  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  De- 
cember 12th,  1680,  who  was  a  prominent  and  leading  citizen  of 
Weston.  He  married  Mercy  Bigelow,  daughter  of  Joshua  and 
Elizabeth  (Flagg)  Bigelow,  and  had  twelve  children.  The 
third,  Thomas,  married  Rebecca  Johnson,  of  Lunenburg,  and 
had  the  following  children  :  Solomon,  born  July  18th,  1743, 
and  married  May  20th,  1766,  to  Sarah  Stimson,  of  Sudbury — 
these  were  the  great  grandfather  and  grandmother  of  General 
James  A.  Garfield  ;  Rebecca,  bom  September  23d,  1745,  mar- 
ried, October  31st,  1785,  David  Fiske  ;  Abraham,  born  April 
3d,  1748,  died  August  15th.  1775,  in  the  Revolutionary  army  ; 
Hannah,  born  August  15th,  1750  ;  Lucy,  born  March  3d,  1745. 
The  General's  great-grandfather  Solomon  Garfield,  was  mar- 
ried in  1766  to  Sarah  Stimson,  a  widow,  with  children  by  her 
first  husband,  and  went  to  live  in  the  town  o/  "Westou,  Massa- 
chusetts. Abraham  Garfield,  a  brother  of  Solomon,  was  iu  the 
fight  at  Concord  Bridge,  and  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  affi- 
davits sent  to  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia  to  prove 
that  the  British  were  the  aggressors  in  that  affair  and  fired  twice 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD.  155 

before  llio  patriots  replied.  It  scerns  that  the  skirmish  was  re- 
garded somewhat  as  if  it  had  been  a  case  of  assault  and  battery, 
and  the  patriots  were  desirous  of  justifying  themselves  by  show- 
ing that  the  other  fellows  began  the  fight.  After  the  Revolu- 
tionary  War  closed  there  was  a  large  emigration  from  Massachu* 
setts  into  the  wilderness  of  Central  New  York.  Solomon  Gar- 
field  packed  his  household  goods  upon  a  wagon,  joined  the 
"  movers,"  and  went  to  Otsego  County.  He  bought  wjld  land 
in  the  township  of  Worcester,  and  reared  a  family  of  five  chil- 
dren— Thomas,  Solomon,  Hannah,  Reoecca,  and  Lucy. 

One  of  Solomon  Garfield's  sons,  Thomas,  was  the  grandfather 
of  General  Garfield.  He  grew  up  in  Worcester,  married  Asc- 
nath  Hill,  worked  hard  on  a  stony  farm,  had  four  children — 
Polly,  Betsey,  Abram,  and  Thomas — and  died  at  thirty  (when 
his  youngest  son  Abram  was  two  years  old)  of  small  pox,  which 
he  contracted  during  a  journey  he  made  to  Albany  with  a  load 
of  produce.  His  son  Abram,  born  in  1799,  was  bound  out  to 
James  Stone,  a  relative  on  his  mother's  side.  At  the  ago  of  fif- 
teen he  left  his  guardian  and  went  to  Madrid,  St.  Lawrence 
County.  New  York,  where  he  worked  by  the  month  on  a  farm 
for  three  VHJUX.  Afterward,  when  eighteen  years  old,  he 
made  his  way  to  Newburg,  Ohio,  where  he  got  employment 
chopping  and  clearing  bind.  His  guardian's  wife  was  an  aunt 
of  Eliza  Ballou,  the  girl  whom  he  was  afterward  to  marry.  The 
mother  of  Eliza  moved  from  Richmond,  New  Hampshire,  with 
her  family,  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  and  her  children 
and  the  GarnYld  children  got  their  education  in  the  same  dis-, 
trict  school-house  in  Worcester  Township. 

Eliza  Ballou's  father  was  a  cousin  of  Hosea  Ballou,  the 
founder  of  Universalism  in  this  country.  Eliza  was  born  in  1801 . 
The  Ballous  are  of  Huguenot  orgin,  and  are  directly  descended 
from  Matvnin  Ballou,  who  fled  from  France  on  the  revocation 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  with  other  French  Protestants  joined 
Roger  Williams'  colony  in  Rhode  Island,  the  only  Amencan  col- 


156  LIFE  OF  JAMES   A.   OARFTELD. 

ony  founded  on  the  basis  of  full  religious  liberty.  The  gift  of 
eloquence  is  undoubtedly  derived  by  General  Garfield  from  thu 
Ballous,  who  were  a  race  of  preachers.  When  Eliza's  oldest 
brother,  James,  was  eighteen,  he  got  what  was  called  in  New 
York  at  that  time  the  4'  Ohio  fever,"  and  persuaded  his  mother 
to  sell  the  scanty  possessions  of  the  family  inOtsego  County  and 
move  to  the  new  State  with  the  three  younger  children.  They 
left  Worcester  in  1814,  followed  the  Susquehana  Valley  down 
to  Harrisburg,  then  turned  westward  across  the  mountains,  and, 
crossing  the  Ohio  River  at  "Wheeling,  reached  Perry  Township, 
about  ten  miles  from  Zanesville,  Muskingum  County,  at  the  end 
of  the  sixth  week. 

In  1820,  Abram  Garfield,  then  lacking  a  few  months  of  his 
majority,  left  Newburg,  Ohio,  to  join  his  old  Otsego  neighbors 
near  Zanesville.  He  was  a  tall,  robust  young  fellow,  of  very 
much  the  same  type  as  his  famous  son,  but  a  handsomer  man, 
according  to  the  verdict  of  his  wife.  He  had  a  sunny,  genial 
temper,  like  most  men  of  great  physical  strength,  was  a  great 
favorite  with  his  associates,  and  was  a  natural  leader  and  mas- 
ter of  the  rude  characters  with  whom  he  was  thrown  in  his 
forest-clearing  work  and  his  later  labors  in  building  the  Ohio 
Canal.  His  education  was  confined  to  a  few  terms  in  the  Wor- 
cester district  school,  and  the  only  two  specimens  of  his  writing 
extant  show  that  it  was  not  thorough  enough  to  give  him  much 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  orthography.  He  was  fond  of 
reading,  but  the  hard  life  of  a  poor  man  in  a  new  country  gave 
him  little  time  to  read  books,  if  he  had  had  the  money  to  buy 
them.  The  weekly  newspapers  and  a  few  volumes  borrowed 
from  neighbors  formed  his  intellectual  diet.  It  was  only  nat- 
ural that  the  stout,  handsome  young  man  should  speedily  fall 
in  love  v/ith  his  old  schoolmate,  Eliza,  at  whose  mother's  home 
in  Muskingum  County  he  was  warmly  welcomed.  She  was  a 
-lender  girl,  short  of  stature,  with  blue  eyes  and  fair  hair  like 
'his  own.  active,  healthy,  industrious,  trained  in  all  household 


LIFE  OF  JAM  US  A.   GARFIELD.  157 

labors,  expert  at  the  spinning-wheel  and  the  loom,  and  able,  in 
spite  of  her  delicate- look  ing  frame,  to  lend  a  vigorous  hand  to 
help  her  brothers  in  the  harvest-field,  as  girls  used  to  do  in  the 
pioneer  days.  In  a  word,  she  was  just  the  wife  for  a  young 
fellow  like  Abram  Garfield,  who  had  his  way  to  make  in  the 
world. 

Short  courtships  and  early  marriages  were  the  rule  in  those 
days.  Life  was  too  serious  and  laborious  to  spend  much  time 
in  love-making.  On  the  3d  of  February,  1829,  Abram  Garfield 
and  Eliza  Ballou  were  married  iu  the  village  of  Zanesville  by 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  named  Richard  H.  Hogan.  The  bride- 
groom lacked  nine  months  of  being  twenty- one  years  of  age, 
and  the  bride  was  only  eighteen.  They  went  to  Newburg, 
Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio— now  a  part  of  the  City  of  Cleveland 
— and  began  life  in  a  sm;ill  log-house  on  a  new  farm  of  eighty 
acres.  In  January,  1821,  their  first  child,  Mehitabel,  was  born. 
In  October,  1822,  Thomas  was  born,  and  Mary,  in  October, 
1824.  In  1826  the  family  removed  to  New  Philadelphia,  Tus- 
carawas  County,  where  the  1'arhcr  had  a  contract  to  construct 
three  miles  of  canal.  Men  who  worked  for  him  are  still  living, 
and  remember  his  great  strength  and  energy  and  his  remarkable 
control  over  the  force  of  workmen  in  his  employ  Three  years 
were  spent  in  New  Philadelphia.  In  1827  the  fourth  child,  James 
B. ,  was  born.  This  was  the  only  one  of  the  children  that  the 
parents  lost.  He  died  in  1830,  after  the  family  returned  to  the 
lake  country.  In  January,  1830,  Abram  went  to  Orange  Town- 
ship, Cuyahoga  County,  where  lived  Amos  Boynton,  his  half- 
brother — the  son  of  his  mother  by  her  second  husband — and 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land  at  two  dollars  an  acre.  The  coun- 
try was  nearly  all  wild,  and  the  new  farm  had  to  be  carved  out 
of  the  forest.  Boyutou  purchased  at  the  same  time  a  tract  of 
the  same  size  adjoining,  arid  the  two  families  lived  together  for 
a  few  weeks  iu  a  log-house  built  by  the  joint  labors  of  the  men. 
Soon  a  second  cabin  was  reared  across  the  road.  The  dwelling 


158  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

of  the  Garfields  was 'built  after  the  standard  pattern  of  the 
houses  of  poor  Ohio  farmers  in  that  day.  Its  walls  were  of 
logs,  its  roof  was  of  shingles  split  with  an  axe,  and  its  floor  of 
rude  thick  planking  split  out  of  tree-trunks  with  a  wedge  and 
maul.  It  had  only  a  single  room,  at  one  end  of  -which  was 
the  big  cavernous  chimney,  where  the  cooking  was  done,  and 
at  the  other  a  bed.  The  younger  children  slept  in  a  trundle- 
bed,  which  was  pushed  under  the  bedstead  of  their  parents  in 
the  day-time  to  get  it  out  of  the  way,  for  there  was  no  room  to 
spare  ;  the  older  ones  climbed  a  ladder  to  the  loft  under  the 
steep  roof.  In  this  house  James  A.  Garfield  was  born,  Novem- 
ber Iflth,  1831. 

The  father  worked  hard  early  and  late  to  clear  his  land  and 
plant  and  gather  his  crops.  No  man  in  all  the  region  around 
could  wield  an  axe  like  him.  Fenced  fields  soon  took  the  place 
of  the  forest  ;  an  orchard  was  planted,  a  barn  built,  and  the 
family  was  full  of  hope  for  the  future  when  death  removed  its 
strong  support.  One  day  in  May,  1833,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the 
woods,  and  Abram  Garfield.  after  heating  his  blood  and  exerting 
his  strength  to  keep  the  flames  from  his  fences  and  fields,  sat 
down  to  rest  where  a  cold  wind  blew,  and  was  seized  with  a 
violent  sore  throat.  A  country  doctor  put  a  blister  on  his  neck, 
which  seemed  only  to  hasten  his  death.  Just  before  he  died, 
pointing  to  his  children,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "Eliza,  I  have 
planted  four  saplings  in  these  woods.  I  leave  them  to  your 
care."  He  was  buried  in  a  corner  of  a  wheat-field  on  his  farm. 
James,  the  baby,  was  eighteen  months  old  at  the  time.  His  moth- 
er remembers  that  the  father,  a  few  days  before  he  died,  wa;- 
reading  a  volume  of  "Plutarch's  Lives'"  and  holding  the  boy 
on  one  knee.  James  had  just  begun  to  say  "  papa"  and  "  mam- 
ma,'1 and  the  t\s-o  words  were  his  whole  vocabulary.  Stopping 
his  reading  a  moment  to  listen  to  the  child's  prattle,  the  father 
-'lid,  "  Say  Plutarch,  James."  The  boy  pronounced  the 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  150 

word  plainly,  and  repeated  it  several  times.  "  Eliza,"  said  the 
father,  "  this  boy  will  be  a  great  scholar  some  day." 

The  loss  of  the  father  threw  the  family  into  great  distress. 
They  were  in  debt,  and  there  seemed  no  way  out  of  their 
trouble  but  to  give  up  the  homestead.  The  neighbors  advised 
the  mother  to  break  up  the  family,  find  homes  for  the  older 
children,  and  get  some  sort  of  employment  to  support  herself 
and  the  baby  ;  but  she  determined  to  make  an  effort  to  keep  the 
household  together.  Thomas,  the  oldest  boy,  was  ten  years  old, 
and  soon  became  the  main  stay  of  the  family.  He  was  a  brave, 
affectionate,  industrious  lad,  stalwart  of  frame,  and  devoted  to 
his  mother  and  the  younger  children.  Fifty  acres  of  the  farm 
were  sold  to  pay  the  debts,  and  on  the  remaining  thirty  Mrs. 
Garfield  managed,  by  the  hardest  toil  and  the  closest  economy, 
to  rear  her  family.  Thonas  did  not  marry  until  he  was  thirty, 
when  James  had  got  his  education  and  begun  his  career,  and 
the  load  of  poverty  had  been  lifted  from  the  mother.  He  now 
lives  in  Michigan.  The  two  sisters  are  married  and  live  in  So- 
lon, Ohio. 

Abram  Garfield  was  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  a  great  admirer 
of  Henry  Clay.  He  joined  the  Disciples  Church,  with  his  wife, 
soon  after  his  marriage,  and  not  long  after  the  denomination 
•was  formed,  under  the  influence  of  the  preaching  of  Alexander 
Campbell. 


CHAPTER  H. 

A  TOILSOME   BOYHOOD. 

THE  childhood  of  Jamea  A.  Garfield  was  passed  in  almost 
complete  isolation  from  social  influences  save  those  which  pro- 
ceeded from  the  home  of  his  mother  and  that  of  his  Uncle 
Boynton.  The  farms  of  the  Garfields  and  Boyntons  were  par- 
tially separated  from  the  settled  country  around  by  a  large 


160  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFTELD. 

tract  of  forest  on  one  side  and  a  deep  rocky  ravine  on  another. 
About  a  mile  away  ran  the  Chagrin  River  through  a  wild  gorge. 
For  many  years  after  Abram  Garfield  and  his  half-brother 
Boynton  built  their  log  cabins,  the  nearest  house  was  seven 
miles  distant,  and  when  the  country  became  well  settled  the 
rugged  character  of  the  surface  around  their  farms  kept  neigh- 
bors at  a  distance  too  great  for  the  children  of  the  two  families 
to  find  associates  among  them,  save  at  the  district  school.  So 
the  cousins  grew  up  together  like  brothers  aiid  sisters.  Indeed 
there  was  a  double  bond  between  the  two  families,  for  Mrs. 
Boynton  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Garfield.  Boynton  had  six  children 
— three  boys  and  three  girls — who  with  the  four  Garfield  chil- 
dren made  a  harmonious  group,  which  only  separated  when  the 
older  boys  went  away  to  earn  wages  at  wood -chopping  or  in  the 
hay-field. 

The  district  school-house  stood  upon  a  corner  of  the  Garfield 
farm,  and  it  was  there,  when  nearly  four  years  old,  that  James 
conned  his  "  Noah  Webster's  Spelling  Book."  and  learned  his 
"  a-b  ab's."  The  teacher  was  a  young  man  from. New  Hamp- 
shire, named  Foster.  A  few  weeks  after  the  term  began  he 
told  Mrs.  Garfield  that  "  Jimmy'?  was  the  most  uneasy  boy  in 
the  school  :  it  was  impossible  to  make  him  keep  still,  he  said, 
but  he  learned  very  fast.  By  the  next  spring  "  Jimmy"  read 
tolerably  well,  and  the  schoolmaster  gave  him  a  Testament  as  a 
reward  for  being  the  best  scholar  in  his  class. 

James  was  put  to  farm  work  as  soon  as  he  was  big  enough  to 
be  of  any  use.  The  family  was  very  poor,  and  the  mother 
often  worked  in  the  fields  with  the  boys.  She  spun  the  yarn 
and  wove  the  cloth  for  the  children's  clothes  and  her  own, 
sewed  for  the  neighbors,  knit  stockings,  cooked  the  simple 
meal*  for  the  household  in  the  big  fireplace,  over  which  hung 
an  iron  crane  for  the  pot-hooks,  helped  plant  and  hoe  the  corn 
and  gather  the  hay  croT1,  and  even  assisted  the  oldest  boy  to 
clear  and  fence  land.  In  the  midst  of  this  toilsome  life  the 


LIFE  OF  JAXEti  A    UAH  FIELD.  161 

brave  little  woman  found  time  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  her 
children  the  religious  :ind  moral  maxims  of  her  New  England 
ancestry.  Every  day  she  read  four  chapter*  of  the  Bible  a 
practice  she  keeps  up  to  this  time,  and  has  never  interrupted 
for  a  single  day  save  when  lying  upon  a  sick  bed.  The  chil- 
dren lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  religious  thought  and  discus- 
sion. Uncle  Boynton,  who  was  a  second  father  to  the  Garfield 
family,  flavored  all  his  talk  with  Bible  quotations.  He  carried 
a  Testament  in  his  pocket  wherever  he  went,  and  would  sit  on 
his  plough-beam  at  the  end  of  a  furrow  to  take  it  out  and  read  a 
chapter.  It  was  a  time  of  religious  ferment  in  Northern  Ohio. 
New  sects  filled  the  air  with  their  doctrinal  cries.  The  Disci- 
ples, a  sect  founded  by  the  preaching  of  Alexander  Campbell, 
an  eloquent  and  devout  man  of  Scotch  descent,  who  ranged 
over  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania,  from  his 
.  home  at  Bethany  in  the  "  Pan  Handle,"  had  made  great  prog- 
ress. They  assailed  all  creeds  as  made  by  men,  and  declared  the 
Bible  to  be  the  only  rule  of  life.  Attacking  all  the  older  de- 
nominations, they  were  vigorously  attacked  in  turn.  James' 
1  was  filled  at  an  early  day  with  the  controversies  this  new 
excited.  The  guests  at  his  mother's  house  were  mostly 
travelling  preachers,  and  the  talk  of  the  neighborhood,  when 
not  about  the  crops  and  farm  labors,  was  usually  on  religious 
topics.  Polities  had  only  a  secondary  hold  on  the  local  mind. 
When  a  lad  of  seven  or  eight,  James  was  asked  one  day  whether 
was  a  Whig  or  a  Democrat.  He  replied  :  "  I'm  a  Whig, 
but  I've  not  been  baptized,"  supposing  the  party  names  to  have 
sonic  connection  with  the  denominational  divisions  of  which  he 
heard  so  much. 

At  the  district  school  James  was  known  as  a  fighting  boy. 

lie  found   that  the  larger  boys  were  disposed  to  insult  and 

abuse  a  little  fellow  who  had  no  father  nor  big  brother  to  pro 

iiim,  and  he  resented  such  imposition  with  all  the  force  of 

a  sensitive  nature  hacked  by  a  hot  temper,  great  physical  cour 


162  LIFE  OP  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

age,  and  a  strength  unusual  for  his  age.  His-  big  brother  Thomas 
had  finished  his  schooling  and  was  much  away  from  home, 
working  by  the  day  or  month  to  earn  money  for  the  support  of 
the  family.  Many  stories  are  told  iu  Orange  of  the  pluck 
shown  by  the  future  Major-General  in  his  encounters  with  the 
rough  country  lads  in  defence  of  his  boyish  rights  and  honor. 
They  say  he  never  began  a  fight  and  never  cherished  malice, 
but  when  enraged  by  taunts  or  insults  would  attack  boys 
of  twice  his  size  with  the  fury  and  tenacity  of  a  bull-dog.  A 
few  years  after  the  death  of  his  father  the  house  was  enlarged 
m  a  curious  fashion.  The  log  school-house  was  abandoned  for 
a  new  frame  building,  and  the  old  structure  was  bought  by 
Thomas  Garfield  for  a  trifle,  and  he  and  James,  with  the  help 
of  the  Boynton  boys,  pulled  it  down  and  put  it  up  again  on  a 
site  a  few  steps  in  the  rear  of  the  Garfield  dwelling.  Thus  the 
family  had  two  rooms  and  were  tolerably  comfortable,  as  far  as 
household  accommodations  were  concerned.  In  these  two 
log  "buildings  they  lived  until  James  was  fourteen,  when  the 
boys  built  a  small  frame  house  for  their  mother.  It  was 
painted  red  and  had  three  rooms  below  and  two  under  the  roof. 
The  original  cabin  had  settled  so  much  and  got  so  awry  that  it 
threatened  to  tumble  down.  Every  year  they  had  to  saw  off 
the  bottom  of  the  front  door,  which  hung  upon  wooden  hinges, 
to  keep  it  from  "  binding"  upon  the  floor.  The  new  house  cost 
about  three  hundred  dollars.  The  boys  hired  a  carpenter  and 
worked  with  him.  James  thus  got  to  be  quite  expert  with  the 
s.iw  and  plane,  and  was  able  afterward  to  earn  wages  as  a  car- 
penter's assistant. 

For  a  long  time  there  was  no  newspaper  taken  in  the  Garfield 
household.  The  first  one  the  General  remembers,  for  which  his 
mother  subscribed,  was  the  Protestant  Unionist,  a  Disciples 
weekly,  printed  in  Pittsburg.  Few  books  were  to  be  had  in 
the  neighborhood,  but  such  as  could  be  borrowed  were  devour- 
ed by  James  with  indiscriminate  avidity.  Everything  was  fish 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD.  163 

that  came  to  his  net.  He  particularly  delighted  in  the  old 
"English  Reader,"  which  was  the  only  reading  book  at  the 
school  for  pupils  of  all  ages.  Many  of  the  extracts  it  contained 
sunk  so  deeply  into  his  mind  by  repeated  rehearsal  that  he  can 
repeat  whole  pages  to-day  without  pausing  for  a  word.  A 
book  that  made  a  strong  jmpression  upon  him  at  an  early  age 
was  a  romance  called  "  Alonzo  and  Melissa,  or  the  Cow  Boys 
of  the  Revolution."  Another  was  a  sea  tale  called  "  Tom  Hal- 
yard." One  of  his  cousins  came  into  possession  of  a  copy  of 
"  Robinson  Crusoe"  minus  the  last  twenty  pages.  He  read  the 
book  again  and  again  until  it  was  worn  out  by  constant  use.  A 
neighbor's  boy  got  a  copy  of  "  Josephus"  and  the  twc  got  per- 
mission to  read  it  as  a  reading  book  in  the  school  one  winter. 
His  hunger  for  reading  was  insatiable,  and  he  forgot  nothing  that 
he  read.  Even  the  florid  and  bombastic  preface  to  Kirkham's 
Grammar  was  read  so  often  that  he  can  repeat  it  now  from 
beginning  to  end.  He  was  a  master  of  the  spelling-book  be- 
fore he  was  ten  years  old,  and  was  the  champion  of  his  school 
in  the  spelling  matches  with  the  neighboring  districts.  He 
studied  Pike's  and  Adams'  Arithmetics,  and  Woodbridge's 
Geography. 

There  were  no  playthings  nor  picture-books  in  the  Garfield 
family.  They  were  too  poor  to  buy  such  things.  Yet  it  must 
not  be  thought  that  they  were  exceptionally  poor.  All  the 
farmers'  families  in  Northern  Ohio  had  a  life  of  hardship  and 
sacrifice  in  those  days,  and  the  lot  of  the  Garfields  was  only 
harder  than  the  rest  because  of  the  death  of  the  father.  As 
soon  as  the  boys  got  old  enough  to  earn  money  the  household 
was  in  as  comfortable  circumstances  as  were  other  families  liv- 
ing on  small  farms.  There  were  no  social  castes  in  the  com- 
munity, and  the  hard  struggles  of  the  Garfields  with  poverty 
never  caused  them  to  be  ranked  below  their  more  fortunate 
neighbors,  as  would  be  the  case  at  this  time.  Laziness,  drunk- 
enness, and  immorality  were  all  that  dishonored  persons  in  that 


164          LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

clay.     Work  of  all  kinds  was  honorable,  and  no  menial  spirit  at- 
tached to  it. 

James  often  got  employment  in  the  haying  and  harvesting 
season  from  the  farmers  of  Orange.  When  he  was  sixteen  he 
walked  ten  miles  to  Aurora,  in  company  with  a  boy  older  than 
himself,  looking  for  work.  They  ^ffered  their  services  to  a 
farmer  who  had  a  good  deal  of  hay  cut.  "  What  wages  do  you 
expect  ?"  asked  the  man.  "Man's  wages— a  dollar  a  day," 
replied  young  Garfield.  The  farmer  thought  they  were  not 
old  enough  to  earn  full  wages.  "  Then  let  us  mow  that  field 
by  the  acre,"  said  the  young  man.  The  farmer  agreed  ;  the 
customary  price  per  acre  was  fifty  cents.  By  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  the  hay  was  down  and  the  boys  earned  a  dollar 
apiece.  Then  the  farmer  engaged  them  for  a  fortnight. 
James's  first  steady  wages  were  earned  from  a  merchant  who 
had  an  ashery  where  he  leached  ashes  and  made  black  salts, 
which  were  shipped  by  lake  and  canal  to  New  York.  He  got 
nine  dollars  a  month  and  his  board,  and  stuck  to  the  business 
for  two  months,  at  the  end  of  which  his  hair  below  his  cap  was 
bleached  and  colored  by  the  fumes  until  it  assumed  a  lively  red 
hue.  Afterward  he  went  to  Newburg,  where  an  uncle  lived 
who  had  a  piece  of  oak-timbered  land  to  clear  on  the  edge  of  In- 
dependence Township.  James  agreed  to  chop  one  hundred 
cords  of  wood  at  fifty  cents  a  cord.  He  boarded  with  one  of 
his  sistefs,  who  was  married  and  lived  near  by.  He  was  a  good 
chopper,  and  easily  cut  two  cords  a  day.  Near  him  worked  a 
German,  who  was  neither  quick  nor  expert.  James  found  lie 
could  make  two  cuts  through  a  log  while  the  German  was  mak- 
ing one,  and  he  was  disposed  to  disparage  the  clumsy  fellow, 
but  at  the  end  of  a  week  ho  found  the  slow  chopper  had  as 
many  cords  piled  up  as  he.  This  set  him  to  thinking  and  ob- 
serving, and  he  noticed  that  the  German  never  stopped  as  he 
did  to  look  at  the  blue  lake  and  the  distant  -^ails,  or  sat  on  his. 
loo-  to  rest  and  meditate,  but  kept  steadily  ::t  his  work  like  a 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARVIELD.  165 

machine.  The  boy  learned  a  lesson  of  persistence  and  applica- 
tion. It  was  the  story  of  the  hare  and  the  tortoise  in  a  new 
form. 

The  view  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  passing  sails  stirred 
afresh  in  him  the  ambition  to  be  a  sailor,  which  almost  every 
sturdy  farmer's  boy  feels  who  reads  tales  of  sea  fights  and  ad- 
ventures in  the  quiet  monotony  of  his  inland  home.  He  re- 
solved to  ship  on  one  of  the  lake  craft,  and  with  this  purpose 
walked  to  Cleveland  and  boarded  a  schooner  lying  at  the. 
wharf,  and  told  the  captain  he  wanted  to  hire  out  as  a  sailor, 
i'lie  captain,  a  brutal,  drunken  fellow,  was  amazed  at  the  im 
[mdence  of  the  green  country  lad,  and  answered  him  with  a 
torrent  of  profanity.  Escaping  as  quickly  as  he  could  from  the 
vessel,  the  lad  walked  up  the  river  along  the  docks.  Soon  he 
heard  himself  called  by  name  from  the  deck  of  a  canal-boat, 
and,  turning  around,  recognized  a  cousin,  Amos  Letcher,  who 
told  him  he  commanded  the  craft,  and  proposed  to  engage  him  to 
drive  horses  on  the  tow-path.  The  would-be  sailor  thought 
that  here  was  a  chance  to  learn  something  of  navigation  in  a 
humble  way,  preparatory  to  renewing  his  application  for  ser- 
vice on  the  lakes.  He  accepted  the  offer  and  the  wages  of 
"  ten  dollars  a  month  and  found,"  and  next  day  the  boat  start- 
ed for  Pittsburg  with  a  cargo  of  copper  ore.  It  wa£  called  the 
Evening  Star,  was  open  amidships,  and  had  a  cabin  .at  the  bow 
for  the  horses  and  one  at  the  stern  for  the  men.  At  Akron  it 
left  the  main  line  of  the  Ohio  Canal,  and  following  the  Penn 
sylvania  branch  took  the  young  driver  through  the  heart  of  the 
district  he  was  afterward  to  represent  in  Congress,  past  the 
towns  of  Ravenna,  Warren,  Niles,  and  Youngstown,  to  tin- 
Beaver  River  ;  thence  by  slack  water  to  the  Ohio  at  Beaver 
village,  where  the  boat  was  taken  in  tow  by  the  stern-wheeler 
Michigan  and  pulled  up  to  IMltslmrg.  Some  of  the  stories  told 
of  GarlieliTs  canal  adventures  are  fictitious.  That  of  his  victory 
over  the  burly  boatman  at  the  mouth  of  the  Beaver  is  true,  and 


166  LIFti  OF  JAMK8  A.   <+ AH  FIELD. 

also  that  of  his  narrow  escape  from  drowning.  He  fell  over- 
board, in  the  darkness,  into  Breakneck  Creek,  near  Kent, 
Ohio  (then  Franklin  Mills),  while  pulling  in  the  bowline,  and 
was  saved  from  going  under  the  boat  by  ;i  lucky  twist  in  the 
rope  which  caught  between  two  planks  and  held  till  he  pulled 
himself  hand  over  hand  up  to  the  deck.  On  the  return  trip  the 
Evening  Star  stopped  at  Brier  Hill  on  the  Mahouing  River, 
arid  loaded  with  coal  at  the  mints  of  David  Tod,  afterward 
Governor  of  Ohio,  and  a  warm  friend  of  Garfield.  the  Major- 
General  and  member  of  Congress.  The  boating  episode  in 
GarfiekTs  life  lasted  through  the  season  of  1848.  After  the 
first  trip  to  Pittsburg  the  boat  went  back  and  forth  between 
Cleveland  and  Brier  Hill  with  cargoes  of  coal  and  iron. 

Late  in  the  fall  the  young  driver,  who  had  risen  to  the  post 
of  steersman,  was  seized  with  a  violent  attack  of  ague,  which 
kept  him  at  home  all  winter  and  in  bed  most  of  the  time.  All 
his  summer's  earnings  went  for  doctors'  bills  and  medicines. 
When  he  recovered,  his  mother,  who  had  never  approved  his 
canal  adventure,  dissuaded  him  from  carrying  out  hits  project  of 
shipping  on  the  lakes.  To  master  one  passion  she  stimulated 
another — that  of  study.  She  brought  to  her  help  the  district 
school-teacher,  an  excellent,  thoughtful  man  named  Samuel  D. 
Bates,  who  jired  the  boy's  mind  with  a  desire  for  a  good  educa-- 
tion,  and  doubtless  changed  the  course  of  his  life.  He  wen^ 
to  the  Geauga  Academy,  at  Chester,  a  village  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant, and  began  a  new  career. 

During  the  boyhood  period  above  described  Garfield  had  no 
political  impressions.  He  remembers  attending  but  one  political 
meeting  ;  that  was  in  the  Harrison  campaign.  Xor  did  he  ex- 
perience any  deep  religious  emotions.  He  went  regularly  when 
at  home  to  the  Disciples  meetings,  first  atBentleyville  and  later 
at  the  school-house  near  his  home,  where  his  Undo  Boynton  had 
organized  a  congregation.  There  was  no  Sunday-school  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  polemics  of  religion  interested  him  dtcplv 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFTELD.  167 

at  that  time,  but  his  heart  was  not  touched.  He  was  familiar 
with  Bible  texts,  and  was  often  a  formidable  disputant.  One 
day,  when  about  fifteen,  he  was  digging  potatoes  for  a  farmer  in 
Orange  and  carrying  them  in  a  basket  from  the  patch  to  the  cel- 
lar. Near  the  cellar-door  sat  a  neighbor  talking  to  the  farmer's 
grown-up  daughter  about  the  merits  of  the  sprinkling  and  im- 
mersion controversy,  and  arguing  that  sprinkling  was  baptism 
within  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures.  James  overheard  him 
say  that  a  drop  was  as  good  as  a  fountain.  He  stopped  on  his 
way  to  the  field  and  began  to  quote  this  text  from  Hebrews  r 
"  Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith, 
having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience."  "  Ah, 
you  see,"  said  the  man,  "it  says  '  sprinkled.'  "  "  Wait  for 
the  rest  of  the  text,"  replied  James  ;  "  '  and  our  bodies  washed 
with  pure  water  ! '  Now,  how  can  you  wash  your  body  in  a 
drop  of  water  ?"  Without  waiting  for  a  reply,  he  hastened  off 
to  the  potato-field. 

He  repulsed  all  efforts  to  persuade  him  to  join  the  church, 
and  when  pressed  hard  stayed  away  from  meetings  for  several 
Sundays.  Apparently,  he  wanted  full  freedom  to  reach  conclu- 
sions about  religion  by  his  own  mental  processes.  It  was  not  un- 
til he  was  eighteen  and  had  been  two  terms  at  the  Chester 
school  that  he  joined  his  uncle's  congregation.  He  was  bap- 
tized in  March,  1850,  in  a  little  stream  putting  into  the  Cha- 
grin River.  His  conversion  was  accomplished  by  a  quiet,  sweet- 
tempered  man  who  held  a  series  of  meetings  in  the  school-house 
near  the  Garfielrl  homestead,  and  told  in  the  plainest  and  most 
straightforward  manner  the  story  of  the  Gospel.  A  previous 
perusal  of  Pollock's  "  Course  of  Time"  had  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  him  and  turned  his  thoughts  to  religious  sub- 
jects. 


168  LTF/S  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

CHAPTER  III. 

BRAVE    EFFORTS    FOR    AN    EDUCATION. 

THE  country  schoolmaster  who  helped  Mrs.  Garficld  dissuade 
her  son  from  going  as  a  sailor  on  the  lakes  in  the  spring  of  1849 
was  a  student  at  Gcauga  Academy,  a  Free  Will  Baptist  institu- 
tion in  the  village  of  Chester,  ten  miles  away  from  the  home 
of  the  Garficlds  in  Orange.  The  argument  which  finally  turned 
the  robust  lad  from  his  cherished  plan  of  adventure  was  ad- 
vanced by  his  mother,  and  was  that,  if  he  fitted  himself  for 
teaching  by  a  few  terms  in  school,  lie  could  teach  winters  and 
sail  summers,  and  thus  have  employment  the  year  round.  In 
the  month  of  March,  with  seventeen  dollars  in  his  pocket,  got 
together  by  his  mother  and  his  brother  Thomas,  James  went 
to  Chester  with  his  cousins,  William  and  Henry  Boynton.  The 
boys  took  a  stock  of  provisions  along,  and  rented  a  room  witli 
two  beds  and  a  cook-stove  in  an  old  unpainted  house  where 
lived  a  poor  widow  woman,  who  undertook  to  prepare  their 
meals  and  do  their  washing  for  an  absurdly  small  sum.  The 
academy  was  a  two-story  building,  and  the  school,  with  about 
a  hundred  pupils  of  both  sexes,  drawn  from  the  farming  coun- 
try around  Chester,  was  in  a  flourishing  condition.  It  had  a 
library  of  perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes — more  books 
than  young  Garfield  had  ever  seen  before.  A  venerable  gen- 
tleman named  Daniel  Branch  was  principal  of  the  school,  and 
his  wife  was  his  chief  assistant.  Mrs.  Branch  had  introduced  an 
iconoclastic  grammar,  which  assailed  all  other  systems  as 
funded  on  a  false  basis  ;  maintained  that  but  was  a  verb  in  the 
imperative  mood,  and  meant  lie  out  ;  that  and  was  also  a  verb  in 
the  imperative  mood,  and  meant  add  ;  and  tried  in  other  ways 
to  upset  the  accepted  etymology.  Garfield  had  been  reared  in 
"  Kirkham"  at  the  district  school,  and  refused  to  accept  the 
new  system.  The  grammar  classes  that  term  were  a,  continu- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   0 AX FIELD.  IGfl 

ous  1  nil  lie  between  him  and  his  teacher.  At  Chester  he  first 
saw  an  algebra.  What  was  of  more  importance,  though  he  did 
not  know  it  at  the  time,  he  first  saw  his  future  wife.  Lucretia 
Rudolph,  a  quiet,  studious  girl  in  her  seventeenth  year,  was 
among  the  students.  There  was  no  association  between  the 
two,  however,  save  in  classes.  James  was  awkward  and  bash- 
ful, and  contemplated  the  girls  at  a  distance  as  a  superior  order 
of  beings. 

There  was  a  literary  society  connected  with  the  academy,  and 
James  began  to  take  part  in  the  debates,  but  with  a  good  deal 
of  diffidence.  He  read  his  first  essay  at  one  of  the  school  exer- 
cises, and  was  glad  that  there  was  a  short  curtain  across  the 
front  of  the  platform  which  hid  his  trembling  legs  from  the  view 
of  the  audience.  Among  the  books  he  read  was  the  autobiog- 
raphy of  Henry  C.  Wright,  and  he  was  greatly  impressed  by 
the  author's  account  of  how  he  lived  in  Scotland  on  bread, 
milk,  and  crackers,  and  how  well  he  was,  and  how  hard  he 
could  study.  James  told  his  cousins  that  they  were  extrava- 
gant, and  that  another  term  they  must  board  themselves  and 
adopt  Henry  C.  Wright's  diet.  At  the  end  of  the  term  of 
twelve  weeks  he  went  home  to  Orange,  helped  hi*  brother 
build  a  barn  for  their  mother,  and  then  worked  for  day  wages 
at  haying  and  harvesting.  With  the  money  he  earned  he  paid 
(ill  some  arrears  of  doctors'  bills  left  from  his  long  illness. 
When  he  returned  to  Chester  in  the  fall  he  had  one  silver  six- 
pence in  his  pocket.  Going  to  church  next  day  he  dropped  the 
sixpence  in  the  contribution-box. 

lie  had  made  an  arrangement  with  Hemaii  Wood  worth,  a  car- 
penter in  the  village,  to  live  at  his  house  and  have  lodging,  board, 
washing,  fuel,  and  light  for  one  dollar  and  six  cents  a  week,  and 
this  sum  he  expected  to  earn  by  helping  the  carpenter  on  Satur- 
days and  at  odd  hours  on  school  days.  The  carpenter  was  build- 
ing a  two-story  house,  and  James'  first  work  was  to  get  out  sid- 
ing at  two  oents  a  board.  The  first  Saturday  he  planed  fifty-one 


170  LIFE  OP  JAME8  A.  GARFltiLD. 

boards,  and  so  earned  a  dollar  and  two  cents,  the  most  money 
he  had  ever  got  for  a  day's  work.  That  term  he  paid  his  way, 
bought  a  few  books,  and  returned  home  with  three  dollars  in 
his  pocket.  He  now  thought  himself  competent  to  teach  a 
country  school,  but  in  two  days1  tramping  through  Cuyahoga 
County  failed  to  find  employment.  Some  schools  had  already 
engaged  teachers,  and  where  there  was  still  a  vacancy  the  trus- 
tees thought  him  too  young.  He  returned  home  completely 
discouraged  and  greatly  humiliated  by  the  rebuffs  he  had  met 
with.  He  made  a  resolution  that  he  would  never  again  ask  for 
a  position  of  any  sort,  and  the  resolution  was  kept,  for  every 
public  place  he  has  since  had  has  come  to  him  unsought. 

Next  morning,  while  still  in  the  depths  of  despondency,  he 
heard  a  man  call  to  his  mother  from  the  road,  "  Widow  Gaf- 
ficld  "  (a  local  corruption  of  the  name  Garfield),  "  where's  your 
boy  Jim  ?  I  wonder  if  he  wouldn't  like  to  teach  our  school  at 
the  Ledge."  James  went  out  and  found  a  neighbor  from  a 
district  a  mile  away,  where  the  school  had  been  broken  up  for 
two  winters  by  the  rowdyism  of  the  big  boys.  He  said  he 
would  like  to  try  the  school,  but  before  deciding  must  consult 
his  uncle,  Amos  Boynton.  That  evening  there  was  a  family 
council.  Uncle  Amos  pondered  over  the  matter  and  finally 
said,  "  You  go  and  try  it.  You  will  go  into  that  school  as 
the  boy,  '  Jim  Gaffield'  ;  see  that  you  come  out  as  Mr.  Garfield, 
the  school  master."  The  young  man  mastered  the  school,  after 
a  hard  tussle  in  the  school-room  with  the  bully  of  the  district, 
who  resented  a  flogging  and  tried  to  brain  the  teacher  with  a 
billet  of  wood.  No  problem  in  his  after  life  ever  took  so  much 
absorbing  thought  and  study  as  that  of  making  the  Ledge 
school  successful.  He  devised  all  soils  of  plans  for  making 
study  interesting  to  the  children  ;  joined  in  the  out-door  sports 
of  the  big  boys,  read  aloud  evenings  to  the  parents  where  he 
boarded,  and  won  the  hearts  of  old  and  young.  Before  spring 
he  got  the  name  of  the  best  schoolmaster  who  ever  taught  at 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  171 

the  Ledge.     His  wages  were  twelve  dollars  a  month  and  board, 
and  he  "  boarded  around  "  in  the  families  of  the  pupils. 

He  had  forty-eight  dollars  in  the  spring — more  money  than 
had  ever  been  in  his  possession  before.  Before  returning  to 
Chester  he  joined  the  Disciples  Church,  and  his  religious  ex- 
perience, together  with  his  new  interest  in  teaching,  caused 
him  to  abandon  his  boyhood  ambition  of  becoming  a  sailor. 
During  his  third  term  at  the  academy  he  and  his  cousin  Henry 
boarded  themselves  and  put  in  practice  Henry  C.  "Wright's 
cheap  dietary  scheme.  At  the  end  of  six  weeks  the  boys  found 
their  expenses  for  food  had  been  just  thirty-one  cents  per  week 
apiece.  Henry  thought  they  were  living  too  poorly  for  good 
health,  and  they  agreed  to  increase  their  outlay  to  fifty  cents  a 
week  apiece.  James  had  up  to  this  time  looked  upon  a  college 
course  as  wholly  beyond  his  reach,  but  he  met  a  college  gradu- 
ate who  told  him  he  was  mistaken  in  supposing  that  only  the 
sons  of  rich  parents  were  able  to  take  such  a  course.  A  poor 
boy  could  get  through,  he  said,  but  it  would  take  a  long  time 
and  very  hard  work.  The  usual  time  was  four  years  in  prepar- 
atory studies  and  four  in  the  regular  college  course.  James 
thought  that  by  working  part  of  the  time  to  earn  money  he 
could  get  through  in  twelve  years.  Ho  then  resolved  to  bend 
all  his  energies  to  the  one  purpose  of  getting  a  college  educa- 
tion. 

From  this  resolution  he  never  swerved  a  hair's- breadth.     Un- 
til it  was  accomplished  it  was  the  one  overmastering  idea  of  his 
life.     The  tenacity  and  single-heartedness  with  which  he  flung 
to  it  and  the  sacrifices  lie  made  to  realize  it  unquestionably  ex- 
erted a  powerful  influence    in  moulding  and   solidifying   hi 
character.     He  begun  to  study  Latin,  philosophy,  and  botany 
When  the  spring  term  ended  he  went  home  again  and  worke  1 
through  the  summer  at  haying  and  carpentering.     Next  fall  h<' 
was  back  at  Chester  for  a  fourth  term,  and  in  the  winter  he  goi 
a  village  school  to  teach  in  Warrensville,  at  sixteen  dollars  a 


172  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFTELD. 

month  and  board.  One  of  the  boys  wanted  to  study  geometry. 
Tin-  teacher  hud  never  got  so  far  in  mathematics,  but  he  bought 
a  text-book,  studied  nights,  kept  ahead  of  his  pupil,  and  took 
him  through  without  his  onee  suspecting;'  that  the  master  was 
not  an  expert  in  the  science.  In  the  spring  lie1  went  with  his 
mother  to  visit  relatives  in  Muskingum  County,  riding  for  the 
first  time  on  a  railroad  train.  The  Cleveland  and  Columbus 
Railroad  was  just  open,  and  the  travellers  went  by  it  to 
Columbus,  where  they  saw  the  State  Capitol  and  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  from  whence  they  proceeded  by  stage  to  Zanesvillc, 
and  then  floated  eighteen  miles  in  a  skill  down  the  Muskingum 
River  to  their  destination.  James  taught  a  spring  school  in  a 
log  building  on  Back  Run,  in  Harrison  Township.  There  was 
coal  in  a  bank  near  the  school-house,  and  the  teacher  and  his 
boys  dug  the  fuel  for  their  fire. 

Returning  to  Orange  in  the  summer,  he  decided  to  go  on 
with  his  education  at  a  new  school  just  established  by  the 
Disciples  at  Hiram,  Portage  County,  a  petty  cross-roads 
village,  twelve  miles  from  a  town  and  a  railroad.  His  re- 
ligious feeling  naturally  called  him  to  the  young  institution  of 
his  own  denomination.  In  August,  1851,  he  arrived  at  Hiram, 
and  found  a  plain  brick  building  standing  in  the  midst  of  a 
corn-field,  with  perhaps  a  dozen  farm-houses  near  enough  for 
boarding  places  for  the  students.  It  was  a  lonely,  isolated 
place  on  a  high  ridge  dividing  the  waters  flowing  into  Lake 
Erie  from  those  running  southward  to  the  Ohio.  lie  lived  in  a 
room  with  four  other  pupils,  studied  harder  than  ever,  having 
now  his  college  project  fully  anchored  in  his  mind,  got  through 
his  six  books  of  C«3sar  that  term,  and  made  good  progress  in 
Greek.  In  the  winter  he  again  taught  school  at  Warrensvillc, 
and  earned  eighteen  dollars  a  month.  Next  spring  lie  was  back 
at  Hiram,  and  during  the  summer  vacation  he  helped  build  a 
house  in  the  village,  planing  all  the  siding  and  shingling  the 
rodf. 


Llb'K  OF  .IAMKH  A.   OARFIELD.  173 

He  met  at  Hiram  a  woman  who  exercised  a  strong  influence  on 
his  intellectual  life— Miss  Almeda  A.  Booth,  a  teacher  in  the 
school.  She  was  nine  years  older  than  the  young  student,  pos- 
•\  a  mind  of  remarkable  range  and  grasp,  and  a  character 
of  unusual  sweetness,  purity,  and  strength.  She  became  his 
guide  and  companion  in  his  studies,  his  mental  and  moral  hero- 
ine, and  his  unselfish,  devoted  friend.  The  friendship 
between  them  continued  until  she  died  a  few  years  ago, 
when  he  delivered  an  oration  on  her  life  and  character  before  the 
pupils  of  the  Hiram  Eclectic  Institute.  Young  Garfield  was 
again  thrown  into  class  associations  at  Hiram  with  Lucretia  Ru- 
dolph, whose  father  had  settled  there  to  educate  his  four  chil- 
dren. A  strong,  mutual  attachment  grew  out  of  this  associa- 
tion, and  the  young  people  entered  into  an  engagement  to  marry 
as  soon  as  James  should  graduate  at  college  and  establish  him- 
self in  life. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  second  year  at  Hiram,  Garfield  was 
made  a  tutor  in  place  of  one  of  the  teachers  who  fell  ill,  and 
thenceforward  he  taught  and  studied  at  the  same  time,  work- 
ing tremendously  to  fit  himself  for  college.  His  future  wife 
recited  to  him  two  years  in  Greek,  and  when  he  went  to  col- 
lege she  went  to  teach  in  the  Cleveland  schools,  and  to  wait  pa- 
tiently the  realization  of  their  hopes.  When  he  went  to  Hiram 
lie  hud  studied  Latin  only  six  weeks  and  had  just  begun  Greek, 
and  was  therefore  just  in  a  condition  to  fairly  begin  the  four 
years'  preparatory  course  ordinarily  taken  by  students  before 
entering  college  in  the  Freshman  class.  Yet  in  three  years' 
time  he  fitted  himself  to  enter  the  Junior  class,  two  years  further 
along,  and  at  the  same  time  earned  his  own  living,  thus  crowd- 
ing six  years'  study  into  three,  and  teaching  for  his  support  at 
the  same  time.  To  accomplish  this,  he  shut  the  whole  world 
out  from  his  mind  save  that  little  portion  of  it  within  the  range 
of  his  studies,  knowing  nothing  of  politics  or  & ''  news  of  the 


174  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD. 

day,  reading  no  light  literature,  and  engaging  in  no  social  rec- 
reations that  took  his  time  from  his  books. 

In  the  spring  of  1854,  he  wrote  to  the  Presidents  of  Yale, 
Brown,  and  Williams,  telling  what  books  he  had  studied,  and 
asking  what  class  he  could  enter  if  he  passed  a  satisfactory  ex- 
amination in  them.  All  three  wrote  that  he  could  enter  the 
Junior  year.  President  Hopkins,  of  Willams,  added  this  sen- 
tence to  the  business  part  of  his  letter  :  "  If  you  come  here,  we 
shall  do  what  we  can  for  you."  This  seemed  like  a  kindly 
hand  held  out,  and  it  decided  him  to  go  to  Williams.  He  had 
been  urged  to  go  to  the  Disciples'  College,  in  Bethany,  Virginia, 
founded  by  Alexander  Campbell,  but  with  a  wisdom  hare  ly  to 
be  expected  in  a  country  lad  devotedly  attached  to  the  sect  rep- 
resented by  the  Bethany  school,  he  sought  the  wider  culture 
and  broader  opportunities  of  a  New  England  college. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TWO  TEARS   AT   COLLEGE. 

WHEN  Garfield  reached  Williams  College,  in  June,  1854,  he 
had  about  three  hundred  dollars  -which  he  had  saved  while 
teaching  in  the  Hiram  school.  With  this  money  he  hoped  to 
manage  to  get  through  a  year.  A  few  weeks  remained  of  the 
closing  school  year,  and  he  attended  the  recitations  of  the  So- 
phomore class  in  order  to  get  familiar  with  the  methods  of  the 
professors  before  testing  his  ability  to  pass  the  examinations 
for  the  Junior  year.  He  had  a  keen  sense  of  his  want  of  the 
advantages  of  society  and  general  culture  which  the  students 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact  had  enjoyed  all  their  lives,  but 
his  homely  manners  and  Western  garb  did  not  subject  him  to 
any  slights  or  mortifications.  The  spirit  of  the  college  was 
generous  and  manly.  No  student  was  fstimatod  1>\  the  clothes 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  175 

he  wore  ;  no  one  was  snubbed  because  he  was  poor.  The  in- 
tellectual force,  originality,  and  immense  powers  of  study  pos- 
sessed by  the  new  comer  from  Ohio  were  soon  recognized  by 
his  classmates,  and  he  enjoyed  as  much  respect,  cordiality, 
and  companionship  as  if  he  had  been  the  son  of  a  millionaire. 
The  beauty  of  the  scenery  around  Williamstown  made  a  strong 
impression  upon  his  fancy.  He  had  never  seen  mountain? 
before.  The  spurs  of  the  Green  Hills  which  reach  down  from 
Vermont  and  enclose  the  little  college  town  in  their  arms  were 
to  the  young  man  from  the  monotonous  landscapes  of  the  West- 
ern Reserve  a  .wonderful  revelation  of  grandeur  and  beauty. 
He  climbed  Greylock  and  explored  all  the  glens  and  valleys  of 
the  neighborhood. 

The  examination  for  entering  the  Junior  class  was  passed 
•without  trouble.  Although  self-taught,  save  for  the  help  of  his 
friend  and  companion  in  his  studies,  Miss  Booth,  his  knowledge 
of  the  books  prescribed  was  thorough.  A  long  summer  vaca- 
tion followed  his  examination,  and  this  time  he  employed  in 
the  college  library,  the  first  large  collection  of  books  he  had  ever 
seen.  His  absorption  in  the  double  work  of  teaching  and  fit- 
ting himself  for  college  had  hitherto  left  him  little  time  for 
general  reading,  and  the  library  opened  a  new  world  of  profit 
and  delight.  He  had  never  read  a  line  of  Shakespeare  save  a 
few  extracts  in  the  school  reading-books.  From  the  whole 
range  of  fiction  he  had  voluntarily  shut  himself  off  at  eighteen, 
when  he  joined  the  church,having  serious  views  of  the  business 
of  life,  and  imbibing  the  notion,  then  almost  universal  among 
religious  people  in  the  country  districts  of  the  Wtst,  that  novel- 
reading  was  a  waste  of  time,  and  therefore  a  sinful,  worldly 
sort  of  intellectual  amusement.  When  turned  loose  in  the  col- 
lege library,  with  weeks  of  leisure  to  range  at  will  over  its 
shelves,  he  began  with  Shakespeare,  which  he  read  through  from 
cover  to  cover.  Then  he  went  to  English  history  and  poetry. 
Of  the  poets,  Tennyson  ph'^prl  him  best,  which  is  not  to  be 


170  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

wondered  at,  for  the  influence  of  the  laureate  was  then  at  its 
height.  He  learned  whole  poems  by  heart  and  can  repeat  them 
now. 

After  he  had  been  six  or  eight  months  at  college,  and  had 
devoured  an  immense  amount  of  serious  reading,  he  began  to 
suffer  from  intellectual  dyspepsia.  He  found  his  mind  was  not 
assimilating  what  he  read,  and  would  often  refuse  to  be  held 
down  to  the  printed  page.  Then  he  revised  his  notions  about 
books  of  fiftion  and  concluded  that  romance  is  as  valuable  a 
part  of  intellectual  food  as  salad  of  a  dinner.  He  prescribed 
for  himself  one  novel  a  month,  and  on  this  medicine  his  mind 
speedily  recuperated  and  got  back  all  its  old  elasticity.  Coop- 
er's "  Leatherstocking  Tales  "  were  the  first  novels  he  read, 
nnd  afterward  Walter  Scott.  An  English  class-mate  introduced 
him  to  the  works  of  Dickens  and  Thackeray.  He  formed  a 
habit  in  those  days  of  making  notes  while  he  read  of  everything 
he  did  not  clearly  understand,  such  as  historical  references, 
mythological  allusions,  technical  terms,  etc.  These  notes  he 
would  take  time  to  look  up  afterward  in  the  library,  so  as  to 
leave  nothing  obscure  in  his  mind  concerning  the  books  he  read. 
The  thoroughness  he  displayed  in  his  work  in  after-life  was 
thus  begun  at  that  early  period,  and  applied  to  every  subject 
he  took  hold  of.  The  ground  his  mind  traversed  he  carefully 
cleared  and  ploughed  before  leaving  it  for  fresh  fields. 

Garfield  studied  Latin  and  Greek,  and  took  up  German  as  an 
elective  study.  One  year  at  college  completed  his  classical 
studies,  on  which  he  was  far  advanced  before  he  came  to  Wil- 
liams. German  he  carried  on  successfully  until  he  could  read 
Goethe  and  Schiller  readily  and  acquired  considerable  fluency 
in  the  conversational  use  of  the  language.  He  entered  with 
/.eal  into  the  literary  work  of  the  school,  joined  the  Philologian 
Society,  was  a  vigorous  debater,  and  in  his  last  year  was  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Williams  Quarterly,  a  college  periodical  of 
a  high  order  of  merit.  To  this  magazine  lie  was  a  frequent 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD.  17? 

contributor  in  prose,  and  once  wrote  a  poem.  The  influence  of 
the  mind  and  character  of  Dr.  Hopkins  was  powerfully  felt  in 
shaping  the  direction  of  his  thought  and  his  views  of  life.  ITe 
often  says  that  the  good  President  rose  like  a  sun  before  him, 
and  enlightened  his  whole  mental  and  moral  nature.  His 
preaching  and  teaching  were  a  constant  inspiration  to  the  young 
Ohio  student,  and  he  became  the  centre  of  his  college  life — tin 
object  of  his  reverence  and  hero-worship. 

At  the  end  of  the  fall  term  of  1854  came  a  winter  vacation  o! 
two  months,  which  Garfield,  employed  in  teaching  a  writing- 
school  at  North  Powiial,  Vermont.  He  wrote  a  bold,  hand- 
•ome,  legible  hand,  not  at  all  like  that  in  vogue  nowadays  in 
the  systems  taught  in  the  commercial  colleges,  but  a  hand  that 
was  strongly  individual  and  was  the  envy  of  the  boys  and  girls 
vrho  tried  to  imitate  it  in  his  Vermont  class.  It  is  said  that  a 
year  or  two  before  Garfield  taught  his  writing-class  in  the 
North  Pownal  school-house,  ChesteV  A.  Arthur  taught  the  district 
school  in  the  same  building. 

At  the  end  of  the  college  year,  in  June,  Garfield  went*back 
to  Ohio  and  visited  his  mother,  who  was  then  living  with  a 
daughter  in  Solon.  His  money  was  exhausted,  and  he  had  to 
adopt  one  of  two  plans,  dther  to  borrow  enough  to  take  him 
through  to  graduation  at  the  end  of  the  next  year,  or  to  go  t:> 
teaching  in  order  to  earn  the  money,  and  thus  break  the  contin- 
uity of  his  college  course.  He  then  hit  upon  the  plan  of  insur- 
ing his  life,  and  assigning  the  policy  as  security  for  a  loan.  His- 
brother  Thomas  undertook  to  furnish  the  funds  in  instalments, 
I  nit  becomng  embarrassed  was  not  able  to  do  so,  and  a  neigh- 
bor, Dr.  Robinson,  assumed  the  obligation.  Garfield  gave  hi? 
notes  for  the  loan,  and  regarded  the  transaction  as  on  a  fair 
business  basis,  knowing  that  if  he  lived  he  would  rep;iy  the 
money  and  that  if  he  died  his  creditor  would  be  secure. 

His  second  winter  vacation  Garlield  spent  inPoestenkill,  Ni.-w 
York,  a  country  neighborhood  about  nix  miles  from  Troy,  where 


178  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A,  GARFIELD. 

a  Disciple  minister  from  Ohio,  named  Strecter,  was  preaching, 
and  where  he  soon  organized  a  writing-school  to  employ  his 
time  and  bring  him  in  a  little  money.  Occasionally  Garfield 
preached  in  his  friend's  church.  During  a  visit  to  Troy  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  teachers  and  directors  of  the  public 
schools  of  that  city,  and  was  one  day  surprised  by  the  offer  of  a 
position  in  them  at  a  salary  far  beyond  his  expectations  of  what 
he  could  earn  after  his  graduation  and  return  to  Ohio.  It  was 
a  turning-point  in  his  life.  If  he  accepted,  he  could  soon  pay 
his  debts,  marry  the  girl  to  whojn  he  was  engaged,  and  live  a  life 
of  comfort  in  an  attractive  Eastern  city  ;  but  he  could  not  finish 
his  college  course,  and  he  would  have  to  sever  the  ties  with 
friends  in  Ohio  and  with  the  struggling  school  at  Hiram,  to 
which  he  was  deeply  attached.  Had  he  taken  the  position,  his 
whole  subsequent  career  would  no  doubt  have  been  different. 
While  in  church  at  Chicago  just  before  the  nomination  last 
June,  he  recognized  in  the  congregation  the  man  who  made  him 
the  offer  in  Troy.  The  two  hud  not  met  since  that  time.  "  Do 
you  remember  what  you  said  on  that  occasion  ?"  asked  his  old 
friend.  "  No  ;  I  cannot  recall  the  conversation."  "  We  were 
walking  on  a  hill  called  Mount  Olympus  when  I  made  you  my 
proposition.  After  a  few  moments  silence  you  said  :  '  You  are 
not  Satan,  and  I  am  not  Jesus,  but  we  are  upon  a  mountain  and 
you  have  tempted  me  powerfully.  I  think  I  must  say,  get  thee 
behind  me.  I  am  poor,  and  the  salary  would  soon  pay  my  debts 
and  place  me  in  a  position  of  independence  ;  but  there  are  two 
objections.  I  could  not  accomplish  my  resolution  to  complete 
a  college  course,  and  should  be  crippled  intellectually  for  life. 
Then  my  roots  are  all  fixed  in  Ohio,  where  people  know  me  and 
I  know  them,  and  this  transplanting  might  not  succeed  as  well 
in  the  long  run  as  to  go  back  home  and  work  for  smaller  pay.' ' 
Study  at  Williams  was  easy  for  Garfield.  He  hud  been  used 
to  much  harder  work  at  Hiram,  where  he  had  crowded  a  six 
years'  course  into  three,  and  taught  at  the  same  time.  Now  he 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  179 

had  the  stimulus  of  a  large  class,  an  advantage  he  had  never 
enjoyed  before.  His  lessons  were  always  perfectly  learned,  and 
he  found  a  good  deal  of  time  for  courses  of  reading  that  in- 
volved as  much  brain- work  as  the  college  text-books. 

During  his  last  term  at  Williams  he  made  his  first  political 
speech,  an  address  before  a  meeting  gathered  in  one  of  the 
class-rooms  to  support  the  nomination  of  John  C.  Fremont. 
Although  he  had  passed  his  majority  nearly  four  years  before, 
he  had  never  voted.  The  old  parties  did  not  interest  him  ;  he 
believed  them  both  corrupted  Avith  the  sin  of  slavery  ;  but 
when  a  new  party  arose  to  combat  the  designs  of  the  slave 
power  it  enlisted  his  earnest  sympathies.  His  mind  was  free 
from  all  bias  concerning  the  parties  and  statesmen  of  the  past, 
and  could  equally  admire  Clay  or  Jackson,  Webster  or  Benton. 
He  is  the  first  man  nominated  for  the  Presidency  whose  politi- 
cal convictions  and  activities  began  with  the  birth  of  the  Re- 
publican Party. 

He  graduated  August,  1856,  with  a  class  honor  established 
by  President  Hopkins  and  highly  esteemed  in  the  college — that 
of  Metaphysics— reading  an  essay  on  "  The  Seen  and  the  Un- 
seen." It  is  singular  how,  at  different  times  in  the  course  of  his 
education,  he  was  thought  to  have  a  special  aptitude  for  some 
single  line  of  intellectual  work,  and  how  at  a  later  period  his 
talents  seemed  to  lie  just  as  strongly  in  some  other  line.  At 
one  time  it  was  mathematics,  at  another  the  classics,  at  another 
rhetoric,  and  finally  he  excelled  in  metaphysics.  The  truth  was 
that  he  had  a  remarkably  vigorous  and  well-rounded  brain,  ca- 
pable of  doing  effective  work  in  any  direction  his  will  might 
dictate.  The  class  of  1856  contained  among  its  forty-two  mem- 
bers a  number  of  men  who  have  since  won  distinction.  Three 
became  general  officers  in  the  volunteer  army  during  the  rebel- 
lion— Garfield,  Daviess,  and  Thompson.  Two,  Bolter  and 
Shattuck,  were  captains,  and  were  killed  in  battle  ;  Eldridge, 
who  now  livea  in  Chicago,  was  a  colonel  ;  so  was  Ferris  Ja- 


1 80  LIFE  OF  J.  I  MEX  A    OA  HFTKLD. 

<••<•} >s,  of  Delhi,  N.  Y.  Rockwell  is  a  quartermaster  in  the  Reg- 
ular Army.  Gilfillau  is  Treasurer  of  the  United  States.  Hill 
was  Assistant  Attorney  General  and  is  now  a  fclwycr  in  Boston. 
Knox  is  a  leading  lawyer  in  New  York.  Newcombe  is  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York.  In  the  class 
;ihead  of  Garfield  was  Hitchcock,  lately  Senator  from  Nebraska, 
:in<l  Ingalls,  now  a  Senator  from  Kansas.  To  furnish  two 
United  States  Senators  from  one  class  and  a  Senator-elect  and 
Presidential  nominee  from  the  next  following  class,  is  an  honor 
which  has  probably  never  before  fallen  to  any  college.  Ingalls 
was  the  poet  of  the  school  in  his  day,  and  many  of  his  asso- 
ciates believed  him  destined  to  take  rank  in  the  future  close  up 
to  Tennyson.  Many  years  later,  after  he  came  to  the  Senate, 
Garlield  met  him  at  a  dinner-party  and  brought  the  blushes  to 
the  Kansas  statesman's  face  by  reciting  from  memory  two  or 
three  of  his  college  productions. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TEACHER    AND    PRINCIPAL    AT    HtRAM. 

BEFORE  Garfield  graduated  at  Williams  College  the  trustees,! 
of  the  Hiram  Eclectic  Institute  elected  him  teacher  of  ancient 
languages,  and  the  post  was  ready  for  him  as  soon  as  he  got 
back  to  Ohio.  It  was  not  a  professorship,  because  the  institu- 
tion was  not  a  college,  and  did  not  become  one  until  1867,  long 
after  his  connection  with  it  ceased.  A  year  later,  when  only 
twenty-six  years  old,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  school, 
with  the  title  of  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Instruction,  the 
Board  waiting  another  year  before  conferring  upon  him  the  full 
honors  of  the  Principalship.  He  continued  to  hold  the  position 
of  Principal  until  he  went  into  the  army,  in  18G1.  He  was  nom- 
inal Principal  two  years  longer,  the  Board  hoping  he  would  re- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  181 

turn  and  manage  the  school  after  the  war  unlcd.  When  he 
went,  to  Congress  lie  was  made  Advising  Principal  and  lecturer, 
and  his  name  was  borne  upon  the  catalogues  in  this  capacity 
until  1864.  He  is  still  one  of  the  trustees. 

Before  he  went  to  college,  Garfield  had  begun  to  preach  a 
little  in  the  country  churches  around  Iliram,  and  when  he  re- 
turned he  began  to  fill  the  pulpit  in  the  Disciples'  Church  in 
Hiram  with  considerable  regularity.  In  his  denomination  no 
ordination  is  required  to  become  a  minister.  Any  brother  hav- 
ing the  ability  to  discourse  on  religious  topics  to  a  congrega- 
tion is  welcomed  to  the  pulpit.  His  fame  as  a  lay  preacher  ex- 
tended throughout  the  counties  of  Portage,  Summit,  Trumbull, 
and  Geauga,  and  he  was  often  invited  to  preach  in  the  towns 
of  that  region.  He  felt  no  special  call  to  the  ministry — if  he 
gave  up  teaching  he  had  already  determined  to  go  to  the  law 
— but  he  was  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  Christian  sect  with 
which  he  had  connected  himself,  and  was  eager  to  advance  its 
interests  ;  besides,  it  helped  the  school  for  the  young  Principal  to 
make  acquaintances  in  the  surrounding  country.  Almost  every 
sermon  delivered  away  from  home  brought  new  pupils  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  next  term. 

His  method  of  conducting  recitations  in  the  school  embodied 
a  series  of  technical  questions  for  text-book  answers,  the  as- 
signment of  topics,  calls  upon  the  students  for  their  opinions  and 
finally  his  own  discussion  of  the  subject-matter;  which  was  al- 
ways thorough,  luminous,  and  singularly  interesting.  His  mem- 
ory was  wonderful,  and  his  thoughts  would  range  over  his  read- 
ing and  reflections  to  gather  fresh  material  to  illustrate  and 
broaden  the  lessons  beyond  the  range  of  the  text-book.  He 
was  a  famous  teacher  of  English  grammar  ;  if  he  had  any  spe- 
cialty, this  was  it,  but  he  seemed  to  teach  all  branches  equally 
well— mathematics,  classics,  philosophy,  history,  etc.  He  had 
a  code  of  rules  for  the  school,  bxit  his  own  presence  and  per- 
sonal force  were  more  potent  than  all  the  regulations  which 


182  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

could  be  devised.  The  students  obeyed  him  because  they  loved 
him  and  respected  him.  He  was  cordial  and  companionable 
with  them  all,  and  made  such  careful  studies  of  the  pupils'  char- 
acters that  he  knew  what  forces  to  bring  to  bear  in  each  indi- 
vidual case  to  secure  application  to  study  and  to  awaken  am- 
bition for  a  noble  life.  Inspired  by  his  wonderful  influence, 
which  seemed  to  reach  to  the  fibres  of  every  pupil's  heart, 
the  school  became  like  a  great  harmonious  family  in  which  ho 
was  the  wise,  affectionate  elder  brother.  One  of  his  former 
pupils  says  of  his  peculiarities  as  a  teacher  : 

"  ]STo  matter  how  old  the  pupils  were,  Garfield  always  called 
us  by  our  first  names,  and  kept  himself  on  the  most  familiar 
terms  with  all.  He  played  with  us  freely,  scuffled  with  us 
sometimes,  walked  with  us  in  walking  to  and  fro,  and  we  treat- 
ed him  out  of  the  class-room  just  abotit  as  we  did  one  another. 
Yet  he  was  a  most  strict  disciplinarian,  and  enforced  the  rules 
like  a  martinet.  He  combined  an  affectionate  and  confiding 
manner  with  respect  for  order  in  a  most  successful  manner.  If 
lie  wanted  to  speak  to  a  pupil,  either  for  reproof  or  approba- 
tion, he  would  generally  manage  to  get  one  arm  around  him 
and  draw  him  close  up  to  him.  He  had  a  peculiar  way  of 
shaking  hands,  too,  giving  a  twist  to  your  arm  and  drawing  you 
right  up  to  him.  This  sympathetic  manner  has  helped  him  to 
advancement.  "When  I  was  janitor  he  used  sometimes  to 
stop  me  and  ask  my  opinion  about  this  and  that,  as  if  seriously 
advising  with  me.  I  can  see  that  my  opinion  could  not  have 
been  of  any  value,  and  that  he  probably  asked  me  partly  to 
increase  my  self-respect  and  partly  to  show  me  that  he  felt  an 
interest  in  me.  I  certainly  was  his  friend  all  the  firmer  for  it. 

"  I  remember  once  asking  him  what  was  the  best  way  to  pur- 
sue a  certain  study,  and  he  said  :  '  Use  several  t?xt-books.  Get 
the  views  of  different  authors  as  you  advance.  In  that  way  you 
can  plough  a  broader  furrow.  I  always  study  in  that  way.' 
He  tried  hard  to  teach  us  to  observe  carefully  and  accurately. 


LIFE  Off  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  1<S3 

Kc  broke  out  one  day  in  the  midst  of  a  lesson  with,  '  Henry,  how 
many  posts  are  there  under  the  building  down-stairs  ?'  Henry 
expressed  his  opinion,  and  the  question  went  around  the  class, 
hardly  one  getting  it  right.  Then  it  was  :  '  How  many  boot- 
scrapera  are  there  at  the  door  ?'  '  How  many  windows  in  the 
building  ?'  '  How  many  trees  in  the  field  ?'  "What  were  the 
color  of  different  rooms  and  the  peculiarities  of  any  familiar 
objects.  He  was  the  keenest  observer  I  ever  saw.  I  think  he 
noticed  and  numbered  every  button  on  our  coats.  A  friend  of 
mine  was  walking  with  him  through  Cleveland  one  day,  when 
Garfield  stopped  and  darted  down  a  cellar- way,  asking  his  com- 
panion to  follow,  and  briefly  pausing  to  explain  himself.  The 
sign  '  Saws  and  Files  '  was  over  the  door,  and  in  the  depths  was 
heard  a  regular  clicking  sound.  '  I  think  the  fellow  is  cutting 
files,'  said  he,  '  and  I  have  never  seen  a  file  cut.'  Down  they 
went,  and,  sure  enough,  there  was  a  man  recutting  an  old  file, 
and  they  stayed  ten  minutes  and  found  out  all  about  the  pro- 
cess. Garfield  would  never  go  by  anything  without  understand- 
ing it. 

"  Mr.  Garfield  was  very  fond  of  lecturing  to  the  school.  He 
spoke  two  or  three  times  a  week,  on  all  manner  of  topics,  gen- 
erally scientific,  though  sometimes  literary  or  historical.  He 
ppoko  with  great  freedom,  never  writing  out  what  he  had  to 
say,  and  I  now  think  that  his  lectures  were  a  rapid  compilation 
of  his  current  reading,  and  that  he  threw  it  into  this  form 
partly  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  it  on  his  own  mind.  His 
facility  of  speech  was  learned  when  he  was  a  pupil  there.  The 
societies  had  a  rule  that  every  student  should  take  his  stand  on 
the  platform  and  speak  for  five  minutes  on  any  topic  suggested 
at  the  moment  by  the  audience.  It  was  a  very  trying  ordeal. 
Garfield  broke  down  badly  the  first  two  times  he  tried  to  speak, 
but  persisted,  and  was  at  last,  when  he  went  to  Williams,  one  of 
the  best  of  the  five-minute  speakers.  When  lie  returned  as 
Principal  his  readiness  was  striking  and  remarkable. 


184  7,7777?  OF  JAMER  A    GARFTELD. 

"  At  the  time  I  was  at  school  at  Hi  ram,  Principal  Garfield  wan 
a  great  reader,  not  omnivorous,  but  methodical  and  in  certain 
lines.  He  was  the  most  industrious  man  I  ever  knew  or  heard 
of.  At  one  time  he  delivered  lectures  on  geology,  held  public 
debates  on  Spiritualism,  preached  on  Sunday,  conducted  the  re- 
citations of  five  or  six  classes  every  day,  attended  to  all  the 
financial  affairs  of  the  school,  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Legislature,  and  studied  law  to  be  admitted  to  the  Bar.  He 
has  often  said  that  he  never  could  have  performed  this  labor  if 
it  had  not  been  for  the  assistance  of  two  gifted  and  earnest 
women — Mrs.  Garfield  herself,  his  early  schoolmate,  \\\\o  had 
followed  her  husband  in  his  studies,  and  Miss  Almeda  A. 
Booth,  a  member  of  the  faculty.  The  latter  was  a  graduate  of 
Oberlin,  and  had  been  a  teacher  of  young  Garfield  when  he 
was  a  pupil,  and  now  that  he  had  returned  as  head  of  the  fac- 
ulty she  continued  to  serve  him  in  a  sort  of  motherly  way  as 
tutor  and  guide.  When  Garfield  had  speeches  to  make  in  the 
Legislature  or  on  the  stump,  or  lectures  to  deliver,  these  two 
ladies  ransacked  the  library  by  day  and  collected  facts  and 
marked  books  for  his  digestion  and  use  in  the  preparation  of 
the  discourses  at.  night.  Mr.  Garfield  always  acknowledged  his 
great,  obligation  to  Miss  Almeda  Booth,  and  at  her  death,  re- 
cently, he  delivered  one  of  the  most  touching  and  eloquent  ad- 
dresses of  his  life." 

The  attendance  at  the  school  ranged  from  a  hundred  and 
eighty  to  two  hundred,  and  the  salaries  of  teachers  and  Princi- 
pal not  being  fixed,  but  depending  upon  the  revenue  of  the 
institution,  fluctuated  somewhat.  The  spring  and  fall  terms 
were  the  fullest,  because  many  of  the  pupils  went  out  in  the 
winter  to  teach  country  schools.  Mr.  Garlield's  salary  averaged 
about,  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year,  a  comfortable  lit.tlo  in 
come  for  rural  Ohio  in  the  times  before  the  war. 

lie   Cist   his   first,  vote    in    1856  Jfor  John  C.    Fremont,  his  o\\  n 
political  career  thus  beyitmin;^  with  the  first  national  campaign 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  185 

of  the  "Republican  Party.  Before  leaving  Willams  College  he 
made  a  speech  to  the  students  on  the  question  of  shivery  in  the 
Territories,  and  during  the  fall,  after  he  returned  to  Hiram,  he 
spoke  in  the  Diseiples1  Church  in  reply  to  Alphonso  Elart,  ol 
Ravenna,  who  had  delivered  a  Democratic  address  there  a  few 
nights  before.  Then  a  joint  debate  was  arranged  at  Garret:-- 
ville,  between  Hart  and  Garfield  which  attracted  a  good  deal  of 
local  attention  and  is  well  remembered  to  this  day  by  the  older 
farmers  of  Portage  County.  This  debate  launched  Garfield  as  a 
political  speaker.  His  reputation  as  a  stump  orator  widened 
steadily  from  that  debate  until  it  embraced  first  the  State  of 
Ohio  and  then  the  Nation. 

A  year  after  he  took  charge  of  the  Hiram  school  Garfield 
married  Lucretia  Rudolph,  his  fellow-student  and  pupil  in  for- 
mer years,  to  whom  he  had  engaged  himself  before  he  went  to 
Williams  College.  Their  love  had  stood  the  test  of  time  and 
absence,  and  now  that  he  had  made  his  place  in  the  world  and 
felt  that  he  could  support  a  family,  there  was  nothing  to  hin- 
der its  consummation.  The  marriage  took  place  at  the  house 
of  the  bride's  parents,  November  llth,  1858. 

Miss  Rudolph  was  a  girl  of  unusual  culture.  A  good  schol- 
ar in  Latin,  Greek,  and  German,  and  also  in  mathematics  and 
philosophy,  she  met  the  young  teacher  on  his  own  intellectual 
plane.  They  read  the  same  books  and  delighted  in  the  same 
studies.  Yet  with  all  this  learning,  she  was  still  a  quiet, 
trusting,  affectionate  country  girl  who  had  but  one  hero  in 
life,  her  lover  and  husband,  but  one  ambition — to  h"ld  fast  his 
love,  and  make  for  him  a  happy  home.  She  was  of  medium 
stature,  with  dark  hazel  eyes,  wavy  brown  hair,  a  rounded 
form,  and  an  expression  about  her  mouth  denoting  a  calm, 
sweet  temper,  combined  with  a  strong  will.  The  marriage  was 
a  happy  one.  Indeed,  it  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise, 
for  there  was  congeniality  of  taste,  a  high  ideal  of  a  pure 
home  life,  identity  of  religious  belief,  a  great  love  of  study  uud 
culture,  and  a  long-standing  affection  to  base  it  on. 


186  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GAHFIELD. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

IU   THE   STATE   SENATE. 

THE  years  of  Garfield's  Principalship  of  the  Hiram  Eclectic 
Institute  were  years  of  great  intellectual  activity.  He  delivered 
three  lectures  a  week  to  the  students,  following  usually  the  line 
of  his  reading.  It  was  his  habit  to  make  skeleton  notes  of  what 
he  read,  and  by  the  aid  of  these  notes  to  talk  for  half  an  hour 
upon  the  theme  of  the  book,  giving  the  ideas  of  the  author  and 
then  his  own  comments.  He  delivered  lectures  before  literary 
societies  in  the  neighboring  towns.  One  was  on  the  li  Char- 
acter and  Writings  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,"  another  oil  the 
"Character  of  the  German  People,"  another  on  "  Carlyle's 
Frederick  the  Great."  He  became  greatly  interested  in  the 
science  of  geology,  and  held  a  debate  with  William  Den  ton  on 
the  question  of  whether  all  life  upon  the  earth  was  developed 
by  processes  of  law  or  had  been  introduced  by  successive 
creative  acts.  Denton  held  the  development  theory  ;  Garfield 
that  of  intelligent  providential  action.  The  discussion  lasted 
five  days  and  evenings,  embraced  twenty  speeches  on  the  part 
of  each  of  the  disputants,  and  was  remarkable  as  a  sustained 
and  severe  intellectual  effort.  It  brought  Garfield  many  invita- 
tions to  deliver  courses  of  lectures  on  geology.  He  prepared 
a  course  and  gave  it  at  a  number  of  places  in  Northern  Ohio. 
His  labors  upon  the  stump,  beginning  in  1856,  with  perhaps  a 
score  of  speeches  for  Fremont  and  Dayton  in  country  school- 
houses  and  town-halls  in  the  region  around  Hiram,  were  ex- 
tended in  1857  and  1858  over  a  wider  area  of  territory,  and  in 
1859  he  began  to  speak  at  county  mass-meetings.  His  first 
appearance  at  a  big  meeting  was  at  Akron,  whore  his  name  was 
put  upon  the  bills  below  that  of  Salmon  P.  Chase.  There 
the  young  teacher  met  for  the  first  time  the  great  anti-slavery 
leader  whom  he  had  honored  and  admired  from  his  boyhood, 


LIFE  OF  JAM!:'*     I.   GARFIELD.  18? 

and  a  friendship  sprang  up  between  the  two  which  endured 
imtil  Chase's  death.  All  this  time,  while  infusing  new  vigor 
into  the  Hiram  school,  delving  in  the  fields  of  literature  and 
science,  and  fighting  on  the  stump  the  battles  of  the  young 
Republican  Party  against  slavery,  Garfield  did  a  great  deal  of 
pulpit  work.  Of  his  career  as  "a  lay  preacher  something  -will  be 
said  in  another  chapter,  lie  often  filled  the  pulpit  in  the  Disci- 
ples' Church  at  Hiram,  and  for  some  time  was  the  regular 
minister  in  Solon  and  Newburg,  going  on  S.aturday  to  one  or 
the  other  of  these  places,  and  returning  to  Hiram  for  school 
duties  Monday  morning.  Such  an  amount  of  work  would  have 
broken  down  any  man  not  gifted  with  a  remarkably  vigorous 
brain  and  a  remarkably  vigorous  body,  but  hard  work  in  many 
lines  at  once  seemed  to  be  natural  to  him.  He  slept  well,  ate 
heartily,  and  was  never  overtasked  by  anything  which  could  be 
done  in  the  working  hours  of  the  twenty-four.  Repose  seemed 
not  to  be  necessary  to  his  organization.  His  mind  never  lay 
fallow. 

In  1859,  he  was  chosen  by  the  faculty  of  Williams  College  to 
deliver  the  Master's  Oration  on  Commencement  Day,  and  tak- 
ing his  wife  with  him,  he  went  down  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
to  Quebec,  and  then  crossed  the  New  England  States  to  Wil- 
liamstown — making  the  first  pleasure  trip  of  his  life.  Before 
leaving  home  he  had  been  solicited  to  be  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature  from  Portage  County,  but  declined.  He  thought  at 
the  time  that  the  State  Senate  might  have  tempted  him.  The 
Senatorship  from  the  district  composed  of  Portage  and  Summit 
counties  was  conceded  to  Portage,  and  the  politicians  had  gener- 
ally agreed  upon  an  old  citizen  of  Ravenna,  Mr.  Prcntiss,  for  the 
place.  When  Garfield  returned  from  his  Eastern  trip,  he  learn- 
ed that  Mr.  Prentiss  had  died  during  his  absence  and  was  met 
at  Mantua  station  by  some  friends  who  desired  him  to  be  a 
candidate.  He  told  them  he  would  have  to  talk  with  the  fac- 
ulty at  Hiram  before  he  could  give  them  an  answer.  The 


188  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GA11FIELD. 

teachers  advised  him  to  take  the  nomination,  and  said  they 
thought  they  could  get  along  without  him  in  the  school  during 
the  few  weeks  he  would  be  in  Columbus.  So  he  wrote  to  his 
political  friends  that  if  they  desired  to  nominate  him  without 
any  seeking  or  effort  on  his  part,  he  would  not  refuse.  There 
were  a  number  of  candidates,  but  Garfield  was  nominated  at 
the  third  ballot,  and  the  district  being  heavily  Republican,  was 
elected  without  trouble,  although  some  fault  was  found  with 
him  because  of  his  refusal  to  pledge  himself  to  this  or  that 
measure  and  his  declaration  of  a  purpose  to  act  independently 
according  to  his  own  convictions  of  duty. 

In  January,  1860,  he  went  to  Columbus,  and  took  his  seat  in 
the  State  Senate.  Soon  a  warm  friendship  sprang  up  between 
him  and  Jacob  D.  Cox,  afterward  Major-General,  Governor, 
and  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  The  two  roomed  together, 
studied  together,  read  together,  and  worked  together  on  meas- 
ures of  legislation.  They  were  called  the  Damon  and  Pythias 
of  the  legislature.  He  found  himself  with  very  little  knowledge 
of  the  machinery  of  the  State  Government,  and  to  supply  his 
deficiency  he  adopted  a  plan  that  was  characteristically  original. 
"  If  T  trace  a  dollar, "  he  said  to  his  friend  Cox,"  from  the  pocket 
of  a  taxpayer  up  to  the  State  Treasury,  and  then  out  to  its  ulti- 
mate destination  in  the  payment  of  State  expenditures,  and  fa- 
miliarize myself  with  all  the  statutes  governing  every  transfer 
of  the  money,  I  think  I  shall  know  pretty  well  how  the  State 
machine*  works."  This  plan  he  carried  out.  and  at  the  end  of 
his  investigation  had  thoroughly  mastered  the  subject.  The 
campaign  of  18fiO  made  him  widely  known  throughout  the 
State.  Before  the  legislature  adjourned  a  meeting  was  held  in 
Columbus  to  ratify  the  nomination  of  William  Denison  for  Gov- 
ernor. Chase,  Giddings,  Hassaurek,  and  Garfield  were  the 
speakers.  Garfield  spoke  last.  He  had  just  been  reading  a 
poem  by  Charles  Mackay,  who  had  lately  visited  this  country, 
describing  the  progress  southward  of  a  Mississippi  River  att-iim 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  189 

er  from  St.  Louis  to  New  Orleans.  With  his  remarkable  mem- 
ory, Garfield  hud  the  poem  at  his  tongue's  end,  and  a  happy 
thought  struck  him  to  compare  the  progress  of  the  Democratic 
Party  from  its  old  anti-slavery  ideas  toward  absolute  subser- 
viency to  the  South  to  the  voyage  of  the  steamer  as  de- 
scribed by  Mackay.  The  verses  lent  themselves  marvellously  to 
the  comparison,  especially  one  about  driving  a  drove  of  squeal- 
ing, grunting  hogs  across  a  plank  upon  the  boat.  The  plank, 
in  the  illustration,  was  the  Dred  Scott  decision  and  the  hogs  the, 
unwilling  Northern  Democrats.  The  speech*  was  a  great  hit, 
and  made  the  young  orator  famous  throughout  the  State.  In- 
vitations came  to  speak  in  Cincinnati  and  in  most  of  the  large 
towns.  From  a  local  stumper  at  school-house  and  township  meet- 
ings, Garfield  developed  into  one  of  the  most  popular  campaign 
orators  in  the  State. 

He  found  time  to  read  law  assiduously  while  he  was  in  the 
legislature.  In  1858,  lie  made  up  his  mind  that  his  future 
career  should  be  at  the  Bar.  Teaching  seemed  rather  an  epi- 
sode than  a  permanent  vocation,  and  he  did  not  feel  the  inner 
call  to  devote  himself  to  preaching,  although  he  was  a  success- 
ful pulpit  orator,  and  was  a  devoted  believer  in  Christianity. 
He  therefore  entered  his  name  as  a  law  student  in  the  office  of 
Williamson  &  Riddle,  in  Cleveland,  and  got  from  Mr.  Riddle 
a  list  of  the  books  to  be  studied.  His  method  of  study  was  to 
read  a  chapter,  close  the  book,  and  write  a  synopsis  of  it  ; 
then  re-read  the  chapter  and  compare  the  synopsis  with  it.  In 
this  way  the  contents  of  the  books  became  firmly  fixed  in  his 
mind.  In  1861  he  applied  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  Columbus 
for  admission  to  the  Bar,  was  examined  by  a  committee  com- 
posed of  Thomas  M.  Key,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  Cincinnati, 
and  Robert  Harrison,  afterward  a  member  of  the  Supreme 
Court  Commission,  and  admitted.  His  intention  was  to  open 
an  office  in  Cleveland,  but  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  changed 
liis  plans. 


190  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OARFIELD. 

During  his  two  winters  at  Columbus,  Garfleld  was  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Colleges  and  Universities,  and  made  a  num- 
ber of  thoughtful  reports.  He  introduced  a  bill  for  a  geologi- 
cal survey  of  the  State  which  the  war  pushed  aside  for  a  time, 
but  which  was  afterward  passed.  In  the  winter  of  1861  he 
offered  a  resolution  inviting  the  Legislatures  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  to  visit  Columbus  as  the  guests  of  the  Ohio  Legisla- 
ture, the  purpose  being  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  the  Union 
in  view  of  the  gathering  storm  of  secession.  The  resolution 
was  adopted,  the  invitation  accepted,  and  Garfield  went  to 
Louisville  as  chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  and  made 
a  notable  speech  there  at  a  banquet.  He  was  severely  criti- 
cised at  home  for  his  course  in  this  matter,  but  the  visit  of  the 
two  legislatures  unquestionably  exerted  an  important  influence 
in  strengthening  the  Union  feeling  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

Garfield  and  Cox  were  among  the  first  to  foresee  that  the  end 
of  secession  would  be  war.  After  a  long  talk  one  night,  they  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  war  was  inevitable,  and  mutually  pledged 
themselves  to  each  other  to  enter  the  struggle  and  offer  their 
lives  to  their  country.  This  resolution  was  taken  in  no  light 
mood.  Both  had  homes  and  families.  Governor  Cox  has 
often  said  since  that  the  moment  when  he  clasped  hands  with  his 
friend  and  agreed  to  enter  the  army  was  the  most  solemn  mo- 
ment of  his  life.  The  comrades  began  at  once  to  read  military 
works  and  study  the  profession  of  arms.  They  introduced  a 
bill  offering  the  United  States  Government  three  millions  of 
dollars  for  the  war.  Garfield  offered  a  bill  punishing  treason 
against  the  State,  and  supported  it  with  an  exhaustive  report 
and  speech  on  the  question  of  the  possibility  of  treason  being 
committed  against  a  State,  which  carried  the  bill  through. 
After  McClellan  came  to  Columbus  to  take  command  of  the 
State  troops,  Garfield  was  sent  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  to  procure 
five  thousand  stand  of  arms,  a  portion  of  those  saved  by  Gen- 
u.;l  Lyon,  and  removed  from  the  St.  Louis  arsenal.  He  sue- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  191 

ceeded  in  his  mission.,  shipped  the  guns,  and  saw  them  safely 
delivered  at  Columbus.  He  was  sent  to  Cleveland  by  Governor 
Denison  soon  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  to  organize  the  Sev- 
enth and  Eighth  Regiments  of  Ohio  infantry.  The  Governor 
offered  him  the  colonelcy  of  one  of  the  new  regiments,  but  he 
declined  because  he  did  not  think  himself  fit  for  such  a  post  as 
long  as  he  was  without  military  experience.  If  a  "West  Pointer 
could  be  got  to  take  command,  he  would  be  glad,  he  said,  of  a 
subordinate  position.  Finally,  the  Governor  appointed  him  lieu- 
tenant-colonel and  sent  him  to  the  Western  Reserve  to  raise  a 
regiment,  with  the  understanding  that  a  "West  Pointer  should 
be  found  for  its  colonel  if  possible.  Garfield  suggested  Cap- 
tain (now  General)  Hazen,  a  Portage  County  man,  then  sei  v- 
ing  in  the  Regular  Army,  and  Governor  Dennison  asked  the 
War  Department  to  detail  him,  but  General  Scott  would  not 
consent.  So  the  Forty-second  Regiment  went  into  camp  without 
any  colonel,  and  it  was  only  then  that  Garfield  yielded  to  the 
solicitations  of  its  officers  and  of  the  Governor,  and  consented 
to  take  command. 


CHAPTER   VH. 

FIGHTING   FOR   THE   UNION. 

THIS  and  the  following  chapter,  relating  to  General  Garfield 's 
military  career,  are  copied  without  change  from  White! r^v 
Reid's  "  Ohio  in  the  War,"  a  comprehensive  history,  published 
in  1867,  of  the  part  played  by  Ohio  regiments  and  Ohio  men  in 
suppressing  the  rebellion.  Mr.  Reid,  now  the  distinguish'"! 
editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  was  one  of  the  most  intrepid 
and  impartial  of  the  war  correspondents — those  staff  ofiici  r- 
of  the  people,  sent  with  the  armies  of  the  Union  to  share  their 
dangers  and  hardships  and  describe  their  marches  and  battles 
through  the  medium  of  the  daily  press.  His  account  of 


192  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

General  Garfield's  part  in  the  \v:ir  i.s  peculiarl}'  valuable,  inas- 
much as  it  was  written  long  before  there  could  be  any  political 
motive  for  exaggerating  his  heroism  and  military  genius,  as  one 
of  a  series  of  criticisms,  conspicuous  for  good  judgment  and 
fairness,  upon  the  men  from  Ohio  who  won  distinction  in  the 
national  armies. 

When  the  time  came  for  appointing  the  officers  for  the  Ohio 
troops,  the  legislature  was  still  in  session.  Garfleld  at  once 
avowed  his  intentidu  of  entering  the  service.  But  he  displayed 
at  the  outset  his  signal  want  of  tact  and  of  skill  in  advancing 
his  own  interests.  Of  the  three  leading  radical  Senators,  Gar- 
field  had  the  most  personal  popularity.  Cox  was  at  that  time, 
perhaps,  a  more  compact  and  pointed  speaker  -he  had  matured 
earlier,  as  (to  change  the  figure)  he  was  to  culminate  sooner. 
But  he  had  never  aroused  the  warm  regard  which  Garfield's 
whole-hearted,  generous  disposition  always  excited.  Yet  Cox 
had  the  sagacity  to  see  how  his  interests  were  to  be  advanced, 
lie  abandoned  the  Senate  chamber  ;  installed  himself  as  an 
assistant  in  the  Governor's  office,  made  his  skill  felt  in  the 
rush  of  business,  and  soon  convinced  the  appointing  power  of 
his  special  aptitude  for  military  affairs.  In  natural  sequence 
he  was  presently  appointed  a  brigadier-general.  Garfield  was 
sent  off  on  a  mission  to  some  Western  States  to  see  about  arms 
for  the  Ohio  volunteers,  and  on  his  return  he  was  offered  the 
lieutenant-colonelcy  of  one  of  the  reserve  regiments,  but  his 
making  haste  slowly  was  not  to  injure  his  future  career. 

On  the  14th  of  August,  1861,  some  months  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  legislature,  and  after  the  successful  close  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  West  Virginia  campaign,  the  ex -Senator  was  finally 
appointed  by  Governor  Denison  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the 
Forty-second  Ohio  Regiment  not  yet  organized,  a  company  for 
which  had  been  recruited  among  the  pupils  of  the  Hiram 
Eclectic  Institute. 

It  was  umdwstood  that  if  he  had  cared  to  push  the  matter, 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  193 

Garfiehl  might  have  been  colonel  ;  but  with  a  modesty  quite 
unusual  in  those  days  of  the  war,  he  preferred  to  start  low, 
iuid  rise  as  he  learned.  Five  weeks  were  spent  in  diligently 
drilling  the  regiment,  and  finally,  about  the  time  its  organiza- 
tion was  complete,  the  lieutenant-colonel  was,  without  his  own 
solicitation,  promoted  to  the  colonelcy. 

It  was  not  until  the  14th  of  December  that  orders  for  the 
field  were  received.  The  regiment  was  then  sent  to  Catletts- 
burg,  Kentucky,  and  the  colonel  was  directed  to  report  in 
person  to  Geneial  Buell.  That  astute  officer,  though  as  opposite 
•ts  the  poles  to  Garfield  in  his  political  convictions,  soon  per- 
:eived  the  military  worth  of  the  young  colonel.  On  the  17th 
of  December  he  assigned  Colonel  Garfield  to  the  command  of  the 
Seventeenth  Brigade,  and  ordered  him  to  drive  the  rebel 
forces  under  Humphrey  Marshall  out  of  the  Sandy  Valley,  in 
Eastern  Kentucky. 

Up  to  this  date  no  active  operations  had  been  attempted  in 
the  great  department  that  lay  south  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  spell 
iif  Bull  Run  still  hung  over  our  armies.  Save  the  campaigns  in 
Western  Virginia,  and  the  unfortunate  attack  by  General  Grant 
-it  Bcliuont,  not  a  single  engagement  had  occurred  over  all  the 
region  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi.  General 
Buell  was  preparing  to  advance  upon  the  rebel  position  at 
Bowling  Green,  when  he  suddenly  found  himself  hampered  by 
two  co-operating  forces  skilfully  planted  within  striking  dis- 
tance of  his  Hank.  General  Zollicoffer  was  advancing  from 
Cumberland  Gap  to  Ward  Mill  Spring;  and  Humphrey 
.Marshall,  moving  down  the  Sandy  Valley,  was  threatening  to 
overrun  Eastern  Kentucky.  Till  these  could  be  driven  back, 
an  advance  upon  Bowling  Green  would  be  perilous,  if  not 
actually  impossible.  To  General  George  II.  Thomas,  then  just 
raised  from  his  colonelcy  of  regulars  to  a  brigadier-generalship 
>f  volunteers,  was  committed  the  task  of  repulsing  Zollicoffer  ; 
to  the  untried  colonel  of  the  raw  Forty-second  Ohio,  the  taek 


194  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

of  repulsing  Humphrey  Marshall,  and  on  their  success  the, 
whole  army  of  the  department  waited. 

Colonel  Garfield  thus  found  himself,  before  he  had  ever  seen 
a  gun  fired  in  action,  in  command  of  four  regiments  of  infantry, 
and  some  eight  companies  of  cavalry,*  charged  with  the  work 
of  driving  out  of  his  native  State  the  officer  reputed  the  ablest 
of  those,  not  educated  to  war,  whom  Kentucky  had  given  to 
the  Rebellion.  Marshall  had  under  his  command  nearly  five 
thousand  men,  stationed  at  the  village  of  Paintville,  sixty  miles 
up  the  Sandy  Valley.  He  was  expected  by  the  rebel  author- 
ities to  advance  toward  Lexington,  unite  with  Zollicoffer,  and 
establish  the  authority  of  the  Provisional  Government  at  the 
State  capital.  These  hopes  were  fed  by  the  recollection  of  his 
great  intellectual  abilities,  and  the  soldierly  reputation  he  had 
borne  ever  since  he  led  the  famous  charge  of  the  Kentucky 
Volunteers  at  Buena  Vista. 

Colonel  Garfield  joined  the  bulk  of  his  brigade  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Sandy,  and  moved  with  it  directly  up  the  valley. 
Meantime  he  ordered  the  small  force  at  Paris  to  march  overland 
and  effect  a  junction  with  him  a  little  below  Paintville.  The 
force  with  which  he  was  able  to  move  numbered  about  twenty- 
two  hundred. 

Marshall  heard  of  the  advance,  through  the  sympathizing 
citizens,  and  fell  back  to  protect  his  trains.  As  Garfield  ap- 
proached, January  7th,  1862,  he  ascertained  the  position  of  his 
enemy's  cavalry,  and  sent  some  of  his  own  mounted  forces  to 
make  a  reconnoissance  in  force  of  the  positions  which  he  still  sup- 
posed Marshall's  main  body  to  occupy.  He  speedily  discovered 
Marshall's  retreat  -,  then  hastily  sent  word  back  to  his  cavalry 
not  to  attack  the  enemy's  cavalry  until  he  had  time  to  plant  his 

*  The  brigade  was  composed  of  the  Fortieth  and  Forty-second 
Ohio,  the  Fourteenth  and  Twenty-second  Kentucky  Infantry,  six 
<  ompanies  of  the  First  Kentucky  Cavalry,  and  two  companies  of 

:U  Langhlin's(Ohio)  Cavalry. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELV.  195 

force  on  its  line  of  retreat.  Unfortunately,  the  circuitous  route 
delayed  the  courier,  and  before  Garfield's  order  could  be 
delivered  the  attack  had  been  made,  and  Marshall's  cavalry 
had  been  driven  back  in  considerable  confusion.  When, 
pushing  on  with  the  main  column,  he  reached  the  road  on 
which  he  had  hoped  to  intercept  their  retreat,  he  found  it 
strewn  with  overcoats,  blankets,  and  cavalry  equipments — 
proofs  that  they  had  already  passed  in  their  rout.  Colonel 
Garfield  pushed  the  pursuit  with  his  cavalry  till  the  infantry 
outposts  were  reached  ;  then,  drawing  back,  encamped  with 
his  whole  force  at  Paintville.  Here,  next  morning,  he  was 
joined  by  the  troops  that  had  marched  from  Paris,  so  that  his 
effective  force  was  now  raised  to  about  thirty-four  hundred 
men. 

After  waiting  a  day  for  rations,  which  were  taken  through 
with  the  utmost  difficulty,  on  the  9th  of  January  Garfield  ad- 
vanced upon  Marshall's  new  position  near  Prestonburg.  Before 
nightfall  he  had  driven  in  the  enemy's  pickets,  and  had  sent 
orders  back  to  Paintville  to  forward  the  few  troops — less  than 
one  thousand  in  all — who  had  not  been  supplied  with  rations  in 
time  to  move  with  the  rest  of  the  column.  The  men  slept  on 
their  arms,  under  a  soaking  rain.  By  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing of  January  10th,  they  were  in  motion. 

Marshall  was  believed  to  be  stationed  on  Abbott's  Creek. 
Garfield's  plan,  therefore,  was  to  get  over  upon  Middle  Creek, 
and  so  plant  himself  on  the  enemy's  rear.  But  in  fact  Mar- 
shall's force  was  upon  the  heights  of  Middle  Creek  itself,  only 
two  miles  from  Prestonburg,  So,  when  Garfield,  advancing 
cautiously  westward  up  the  creek,  had  consumed  some  hours 
in  these  movements,  he  came  upon  a  semi-circular  hill,  scarcely 
one  thousand  yards  in  front  of  which  was  Marshall's  position, 
between  the  forks  of  the  creek.  The  expected  reinforcements 
from  Paintville  had  not  yet  arrived,  and,  conscious  of  his  com- 
parative weakness,  Colonel  Garfield  determined  first  to  develop 


196  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  QAHFIELD. 

the  enemy's  position  more  carefully.  A  small  body  of  picked 
men,  sent  dashing  up  the  road,  drew  a  fire  both  from  the  head 
of  the  gorge  through  which  the  road  lead  and  from  the  heights 
on  its  left.  Two  columns  were  then  moved  forward,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  creek,  and  the  rebels  speedily  opened  upon 
them  with  musketry  and  artillery.  The  fight  became  somewhat 
severe  at  times,  but  was,  on  the  whole,  desultory.  Gat-field 
reinforced  both  of  his  columns,  but  the  action  soon  developed 
itself  mainly  on  the  left,  where  Marshall  speedily  concentrated 
his  whole  force.  Meantime  Garfield's  reserve  was  now  also 
under  fire  from  the  commanding  position  held  by  the  enemy's 
artillery.  lie  was  entirely  without  artillery  to  reply  ;  "but  the 
men  stationed  themselves  behind  trees  and  rocks,  and  kept  up 
a  brisk  though  irregular  fusilade. 

At  last,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  reinforcements 
from  Paintville  arrived.  As  we  now  know,  these  still  left 
Marshall's  strength  superior  to  that  of  his  young  assailant  ;  but 
the  troops  looked  upon  their  opportune  arrival  as  settling  the 
contest.  Unbounded  enthusiasm  was  aroused,  and  the  approach- 
ing column  was  received  with  prolonged  cheering.  Garfield  now 
promptly  formed  his  whole  reserve  for  attacking  the  enemy's 
right  and  carrying  his  guns.  The  troops  were  moving  rapidly 
up  in  the  fast-gathering  darkness,  when  Marshall  hastily 
abandoned  his  position,  fired  his  camp  equipage  and  stores, 
and  begiui  a  retreat  which  was  not  ended  till  he  had  reached 
Abingdon,  Virginia.  Night  checked  the  pursuit.  Next  day 
it,  was  continued  for  some  distance,  and  some  prisoners  were 
taken;  but  a  further  advance  in  that  direction  was  quite  im- 
possible without  more  transportation,  and,  indeed,  would  have 
been  foreign  to  the  purpose  for  which  General  Buell  had 
ordered  the  expedition. 

Speaking  of  these  movements  on  the  Sandy,  after  he  had 
gained  more  experience  of  war,  Garfield  said  :  "It  was  a  very 
<  .«\\  and  imprudent  affair  on  my  part.  If  I  had  1  it-en  an  officer 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  107 

of  more  experience  I  probably  should  not  have  made  the 
attack.  As  it  was,  having  gone  into  the  army  with  the  notion 
that  fighting  was  our  business,  I  didn't  know  any  better." 

A  fresh  peril,  however,  now  beset  the  little  force.  An  un- 
usually violent  rain-storm  broke  out,  the  mountain  gorges  were 
all  flooded,  and  the  Sandy  rose  to  such  a  height  that  steam  boat- 
men pronounced  it  impossible  to  ascend  the  stream  with  sup- 
plies. The  troops  were-  almost  out  of  rations,  and  the  rough, 
mountainous  country  was  incapable  of  supporting  them. 
Colonel  Garfield  had  gone  down  the  river  to  its  mouth.  He 
ordered  the  Sandy  Valley,  a  small  steamer  which  had  been  in 
the  quartermaster's  service,  to  take  on  a  load  of  supplies  and 
start  up.  The  captain  declared  it  was  impossible.  Efforts 
were  made  to  get  other  vessels,  but  without  success. 

Finally  Colonel  Garfield  ordered  the  captain  and  crew  on 
board,  stationed  a  competent  army  officer  on  deck  to  see  that 
the  captain  did  his  duty,  and  himself  took  the  wheel.  The 
captain  still  protested  that  no  boat  could  possibly  stem  the  rag- 
ing current,  but  Garfield  turned  her  head  up  the  stream  and 
began  the  perilous  trip.  The  water  in  the  usually  shallow  river 
was  sixty  feet  deep,  and  the  tree-tops  along  the  bank  were 
almost  submerged.  The  little  vessel  trembled  from  stem  to 
stern  at  every  motion  of  the  engines  ;  the  waters  whirled  her 
about  as  if  she  were  a  skiff  ;  and  the  utmost  speed  that  steam 
could  give  her  was  three  miles  an  hour.  "When  night  fell 
the  captain  of  the  boat  begged  permission  to  tie  up.  To  at- 
tempt ascending  that  flood  in  the  dark  he  declared  was  mad- 
ness. But  Colonel  Garfield  kept  his  place  at  the  wheel. 
Finally,  in  one  of  the  sudden  bends  of  the  river,  they  drove, 
with  a  full  head  of  steam,  into  the  quicksand  of  the  bank. 
Every  effort  to  back  off  was  in  vain.  Mattocks  were  procured 
and  excavations  were  made  around  the  imbedded  bow.  Still 
she  stuck.  Garfield  at  last  ordered  a  boat  to  be  lowered  to 
take  a  line  across  to  the  'ipjx.site  bank.  The  crew  protested 


198  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

against  venturing  out  in  the  flood.  The  Colonel  leaped  into 
the  boat  himself  and  steered  it  over.  The  force  of  the  current 
carried  them  far  below  the  point  they  sought  to  reach  ;  but 
they  finally  succeeded  in  making  fast  to  a  tree  and  rigging  a 
windlass  with  rails  sufficiently  powerful  to  draw  the  vessel  off 
and  get  her  once  more  afloat. 

It  was  on  Saturday  that  the  boat  left  the  mouth  of  the  Sandy. 
All  night,  all  day  Sunday,  and  all  through  Sunday  night  they 
kept  up  their  struggle  writh  the  current,  Garfield  leaving-  the 
wheel  only  eight  hours  out  of  the  whole  time,  and  that  during 
the  day.  By  nine  o'clock  Monday  morning  they  reached  the 
camp,  and  were  received  with  tumultuous  cheering.  Garfield 
himself  could  scarcely  escape  being  borne  to  headquarters  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  delighted  men. 

Through  the  months  of  January,  February,  and  March, 
se\eral  small  encounters  with  guerrillas  in  the  mountains 
occurred,  generally  favorable  to  the  Union  arms,  and  finally 
resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  the  bands  of  marauders  from  the 
State.  Just  on  the  border,  however,  at  the  rough  pass  across 
the  mountains,  known  as  Pound  Gap,  eighty  miles  north  of 
Cumberland  Gap,  Humphrey  Marshall  still  kept  up  a  post  of 
observation,  held  by  a  force  of  about  five  hundred  men.  On 
the  14th  of  March.  Garfield  started  with  five  hundred  infantry 
and  a  couple  of  hundred  cavalry  against  this  detachment.  The 
distance  was  forty  miles,  and  the  roads  were  at  their  worst,  but 
by  the  evening  of  the  next  day  he  had  reached  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  two  miles  north  of  the  Gap.  Next  morning  he  sent 
the  cavalry  directly  up  the  Gap  road,  to  attract  the  enemy's 
attention,  while  he  led  the  infantry  along  an  unfrequented  foot- 
path up  the  side  of  the  mountain.  A  heavy  snow  storm  helped 
to  conceal  the  movements.  While  the  enemy  watched  the 
cavalry,  Garfield  had  led  the  infantry,  undiscovered,  to  within 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  their  camp.  Then  he  ordered  an  attack. 
The  enemy  were  taken  by  surprise  and  a  few  volleys  dispersed 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIKLD  199 

them.  They  retreated  in  confusion  down  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
mountain,  followed  for  several  miles  into  Virginia  by  the  cav- 
alry. Considerable  quantities  of  stores  were  captured.  The  troops 
rested  for  the  night  in  the  sixty  comfortable  log  huts  which  the 
enemy  had  built,  ;>nd  the  next  morning  burned  them  down, 
together  with  every  thing  else  left  by  the  enemy  which  they 
could  not  carry  away. 

Six  days  afterward  an  order  was  received  to  leave  a  small 
garrison  at  Piketon,  and  to  transfer  the  rest  of  the  command 
rapidly  to  Louisville. 

These  operations  in  the  Sandy  Valley  had  been  conducted 
witli  such  energy  and  skill  as  to  receive  the  special  commenda- 
tion of  the  commanding  general  and  of  the  Government. 
General  Buell  had  been  moved  to  words  of  unwonted  praise. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  General  Bucll's  congratulatory 
order  : 

"  HEADQUARTEKS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  OHIO,     ) 
LorisviLi-E,  KENTUCKY,  January  20,  1862.  \ 
"  Gencrot.  Orders  No.  40 

"  The  general  commanding  takes  occasion  to  thank  General  Gar 
field  and  his  troops  for  their  successful  campaign  against  the  rebel 
force  under  General  Marshall  on  the  Big  Sandy,  and  their  gallant 
conduct  in  battle.  They  have  overcome  formidable  difficulties  in 
the  character  of  the  country,  the  condition  of  the  roads,  and  the 
inclemency  of  the  season  ;  and,  without  artillery,  have,  in  several 
engagements,  terminating  in  the  battle  on  Middle  Creek  on  the  10th 
hist.,  driven  the  enemy  from  intrenched  positions,  and  forced  him 
back  into  the  mountains,  with  the  loss  of  a  large  amount  of  bag- 
gage and  stores,  and  many  of  his  men  killed  or  captured. 

"  These  services  have  called  into  action  the  .highest  qualities  of 
a  soldier — fortitude,  perseverance,  courage." 

The  War  Department  had  conferred  the  grade  of  brigadier- 
general,  the  commission  bearing  the  date  of  the  battle  of 
Middle  Creek.  And  the  country,  without  understanding  very 
well  the  details  of  the  campaign — of  which,  indeed,  no  satis- 
factory account  was  published  at.  the  time-  fully  appreciated 
the  satisfactory  result.  The  discomfiture  of  Humphrey  Mar 


200  LIFE  OF  JAMKS  A.   GAKFIELD. 

shall  was  a  source  of  special  chagrin  to  the  rebel  sympathizer!* 
of  Kentucky,  and  of  amazement  and  admiration  throughout  the 
loyal  West,  and  Garfield  took  rank  in  the  public  estimation 
among  the  most  promising  of  the  younger  volunteer  generals. 

Later  criticism  will  confirm  the  general  verdict  then  passed 
upon  the  Sandy  Valley  campaign.  It  was  the  first  of  the 
brilliant  series  of  successes  that  made  the  spring  of  1862  so 
memorable.  Mill  Springs,  Fort  Henry,  Fort  Donelson,  Nash- 
ville, Island  No.  10,  Memphis,  followed  in  quick  succession  ; 
but  it  was  Garfield's  honor  that  he  opened  this  season  of  vic- 
tories. His  plans,  as  we  have  seen,  were  based  on  sound 
military  principles  ;  the  energy  which  he  threw  into  their 
execution  was  thoroughly  admirable,  and  his  management  of 
the  raw  volunteers  was  such  that  they  acquired  the  fullest 
confidence  in  their  commander,  and  endured  the  hardships  of 
the  campaign  with  a  fortitude  not  often  shown  in  the  first  field- 
service  of  new  troops.  But  the  operations  were  on  a  small 
scale,  and  their  chief  significance  lay  in  the  capacity  they  de 
veloped,  rather  than  in  their  intrinsic  importance. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

MAJOR-GENERAL    AND    CHIEF    OF    STAFF. 

ON  his  arrival  at  Louisville,  from  the  Sandy  Valley,  General 
Garfield  found  that  .the  Army  of  the  Ohio  was  already  beyond 
Nashville,  on  its  march  to  Grant's  aid  at  Pittsburg  Landing. 
He  hastened  after  it,  reported  to  General  Buell  about  thirty 
miles  south  of  Columbia,  and,  under  his  order,  at  once  assumed 
command  of  the  Twentieth  Brigade,  then  a  part  of  the  division 
under  General  Thomas  J.  Wood.  He  reached  the  field  of 
Pittsburg  Landing  about  one  o'clock  on  the  second  day  of  the 
battle,  and  participated  in  its  closing  scenes. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  201 

The  next  (lay  he  moved  with  Sherman's  advance,  and  had  a 
sharp  encounter  with  the  enemy's  rear-guard,  a  few  miles  be- 
yond the  battle-tield.  His  brigade  bore  its  full  share  in  the . 
tedious  siege  operations  before  Corinth,  and  was  among  the 
earliest  in  entering  the  abandoned  town  after  General  Beaure- 
gard's  evacuation. 

Then,  when  General  Buell,  turning  eastward,  sought  to  pre- 
pare for  a  new  aggressive  campaign  with  his  inadequate  forces, 
General  Garficld  was  assigned  to  the  task  of  rebuilding  the 
bridges  and  reopening  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad 
eastward  from  Corinth  to  Decatur.  Crossing  the  Tennessee 
here,  he  advanced  to  Huntsville,  where  he  remained  during  the 
rest  of  his  service  in  that  campaign.  He  was  presently  put  at 
the  head  of  the  court-martial  for  the  trial  of  General  Turchin, 
whose  conduct  at  Athens  had  been  the  occasion  of  a  parting 
howl  against  General  Mitchel,  and  had  been  one  of  the  earliest 
subjects  forced  upon  the  attention  of  General  Buell  on  his 
arrival.*  His  manifest  capacity  for  such  work  led  to  his  sub- 
sequent detail  on  several  other  courts-martial. 

The  old  tendency  to  fever  and  ague,  contracted  in  the  days 
of  his  tow-path  service  on  the  Ohio  Canal,  was  now  aggravated 
in  the  malarious  climate  of  the  South,  and  General  Gartield  was 
finally  sent  home  on  sick-leave  about  the  first  of  August.  Near 

*  This  case  attracted  great  attention  at  the  time,  and  General 
Turchin  was  vehemently  championed  by  the  newspapers,  particu- 
larly those  of  Chicago.  The  charges  against  him  were  neglect  of 
duty,  to  the  prejudice  of  good  order  and  discipline,  in  permitting 
the  wanton  and  disgraceful  pillage  of  the  town  of  Athens,  Ala 
bama  :  conduct  unbecoming  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,  in  failing 
to  pay  a  hotel  bill  in  the  town  ;  and  insubordination,  in  disobeying 
the  orders  against  the  molestation  of  peaceful  citizens  in  person 
and  property.  Some  of  the  specifications  particularized  very  shame- 
ful conduct.  The  court  found  him  guilty  (except  »is  to  the  hotel- 
bill  story),  and  sentenced  him  to  dismissal  from  the  army.  Six 
of  it*  members  recommended  him  to  clemency  on  account  of  miti- 
gating circumstances,  but  the  sentence  was  executed 


202  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GAEFIEL1). 

the  same  time  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  seems  at  this  early  clay 
to  have  formed  the  high  estimate  of  Garfiekl  which  he  con- 
tinued to  entertain  throughout  the  war,  sent  orders  to  him  to 
proceed  to  Cumberland  Gap,  and  relieve  General  George  W. 
Morgan  of  his  command.  But  when  they  were  received  he  was 
too  ill  to  leave  his  bed.  A  month  later  the  Secretary  ordered 
him  to  report  in  person  at  Washington,  as  soon  as  his  health 
would  permit. 

On  his  arrival  it  was  found  that  the  estimate  placed  upon 
his  knowledge  of  law,  his  judgment,  and  his  loyalty  had  led  to 
his  selection  as  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  court-martial  for 
the  noted  trial. of  Fitz  John  Porter.  In  the  'duties  connected 
with  this  detail  most  of  the  autumn  was  consumed.  General 
Gacfield  was  understood  to  be  one  of  the  clearest  and  firmest  in 
the  conviction  that  General  Porter  had  wilfully  permitted 
Pope's  defeat  at  the  second  Bull  Run,  and  that  no  less  punish- 
ment than  dismissal  from  the  service  would  be  at  all  adequate 
lo  his  offence. 

The  intimacy  that  sprang  up  during  the  trial  between  General 
Garfield  and  General  Hunter,  the  President  of  the  court-martial, 
led  to  an  application  for  him  for  service  in  South  Carolina, 
whither  Hunter  was  about  to  start.  Garficld's  anti-slavery 
views  had  been  greatly  strengthened  by  his  experience  thus  far 
during  the  war,  and  the  South  Carolina  appointment,  under  a 
commander  so  radical  as  Hunter,  was  on  this  account  peculiarly 
gratifying.  But  in  the  midst  of  his  plans  and  preparations,  the 
old  army  in  which  he  had  served  plunged  into  the  battle  of 
Stone  River.  A  part  of  the  bitter  loss  that  followed  was  the 
loss  of  Garesche,  the  lamented  Chief  of  Staff  to  the  command  - 
ing  general.  Garfield  \vas  at  once  selected  to  take  his  place  ; 
the  appointment  to  Soutli  Carolina  was  revoked  ;  and  early  in 
January  he  was  ordered  out  to  General  Rosecrans. 

The  Chief  of  Staff  should  bear  the  same  relation  to  his 
general  that  a  Minister  of  Slat  does-to  his  sovereign.  What 


LIFE  OF  JAMKS  A.  9AUFIKLD.  203 

this  last  relation  is  the  most  brilliant  of  recent  historians  shall 
tell  us  :  "  The  difference  between  a  servant  and  a  Minister  of 
State  lies  in  this  :  that  the  servant  obeys  the  orders  given  him, 
without  troubling  himself  concerning  the  question  whether  1,1  \ 
master  is  right  or  wrong  ;  while  a  Minister  of  State  declines  to 
be  the  instrument  for  giving  effect  to  measures  which  he  deems 
to  be  hurtful  to  his  country.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Russian 
Empire  was  sagacious  and  polite.  .  .  .  That  the  Czar  was 
wrong  in  these  transactions  against  Turkey  no  man  knew  bet- 
ter. .  .  .  But,  unhappily  for  the  Czar  and  for  his  Empire, 
the  Minister  did  not  enjoy  so  commanding  a  station  as  to  be 
able  to  put  restraint  upon  his  sovereign,  nor  even,  perhaps,  to 
offer  him  counsel  in  his  angry  mood."*  We  are  now  to  see  that 
in  some  respects  our  Chief  of  Staff  came  to  a  similar  experience. 

From  the  day  of  his  appointment,  General  Garfield  became 
the   intimate   associate   and   confidential  adviser   of   his  chief. 
But  he  did  not  occupy  so  commanding  a  station  as  to  be  able  to  • 
put  restraint  upon  him. 

The  time  of  the  general's  arrival  marks  the   beginning  of 
that   period*  of   quarrels  with   the  War   Department  in  which 
General  Rosecrans  frittered  away  his  influence  and  paved  the 
road  for  his  removal.     We  have  seen  in  tracing  the  career  of 
that  great  strategist  and  gallant  soldier,  how  unwise  he  al\v;i_v> 
was  in  caring  for  his  own  interests,  and  how  imprudent  was  the 
most  of  his  intercourse  with  his  superiors.     Yet  he  was  nettrlv 
always  right  in  his  demands.     General  Garfield  earnestly   sym 
pathizcd  with  his  appeals  for  more  cavalry  I  and  for  revolving 
arms.     But  he  did  all  that  lay  in  his  power  to   soften  th 
tone  of  asperity  which  his  chief  adopted  in  his  dispatches  t< 
Washington.     Sometimes  he  took  the  responsibility  of   totuli 

*  Kinglake's  "  Crimean  War,"  vol.  i.  chap.  xvi. 

t  A  demand  which  General  Buell  had  made,  quite  as  emphat- 
ically as  his  successor,  and  with  an  accurate  prediction  of  the  evik. 
that  would  flow  from  its  absence. 


204  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

suppressing  an  angry  message.  Oftencr  he  attempted  to  soften 
the  phraseology.  T5nt  in  all  of  this  (here  was  a  limit  beyond 
which  he  could  not  go  ;  and  when  Rosccrans  had  pronounced 
certain  statements  of  the  department  •  a  profound,  grievous, 
cruel,  and  ungenerous  official  and  personal  wrong,"  the  good 
offices  of  the  Chief  of  Staff  were  no  longer  efficacious — the 
breach  was  irreparable.  Thenceforward  he  could  only  strive  to 
make  victories  in  the  field  atone  for  the  errors  in  council. 

He  regarded  the  army  as  vitally  defective.  We  have  already 
pointed  out,  in  tracing  the  actions  of  its  chief,  the  great  mis- 
take of  retaining  as  commanders  of  the  wings  such  incapables 
as  A.  M.  McCook  and  T.  L.  Crittenden.  Almost  the  first  rec- 
ommendation made  by  General  Garficld  was  for  their  displace- 
ment. It  is  gratifying  now  to  know  that  he  was  so  little  moved 
by  popular  prejudice,  and  so  well  able  to  perceive  real  ability 
beneath  concealing  misfortunes,  that  he  urged  upon  Rosccrans 
to  replace  them  by  Irvin  McDowell  and  Don  Carlos  Buell. 
NVith  George  H.  Thomas  already  in  command,  with  men  like 
these  as  his  associates,  and  with  the  energy  and  genius  of 
Rosecrans  to  lead  them,  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  would 
have  been  the  best  officered  army  in  the  service  of  the  nation. 
But  Rosecrans  was  unwilling  to  adopt  the  suggestion —for  a 
reason  creditable  to  his  kindness  of  heart,  but  not  to  his  mili- 
tary character.  Crittenden  and  McCook  ought  to  be  removed 
-—of  that  he  had  no  doubt,  but — "  he  hated  to  injure  twro  such 
L;OOC!  fellows."  And  so  the  "  two  good  fellows  "  went  on  until 
Chickamauga.* 

*  To  the  above  statement  it  should  be  added  that  General  Gar- 
tield  made  the  recommendation  for  the  removal  of  Crittenden  and 
McCook  in  the  course  of  a  discussion  of  the  battle  of  Stone  River, 
in  which  Rosecrans  explicitly  suid  that  these  offirois  had  shown 
themselves  incompetent  in  that  engagement.  Garlield  did  not  take 
the  ground  that  Buell  and  McDowell  had  approved  themselves 
equal  to  the  high  commands  they  had  formerly  held,  but,  discuss 
ing  this,  he  argued  at  length  their  masterly  qualifications  for  im- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  205 

From  the  4th  of  January  to  24th  of  June  General  Rosecrans 
lay  at  Murfreesboro.  Through  live  months  of  this  delay 
General  Garfielcl  was  with  him.  The  War  Department  de- 
manded an  advance,  and,  when  the  spring  opened,  urged  it 
with  unusual  vehemence.  General  Rosecrans  delayed,  waiting 
for  cavalry,  for  re-iuforcements,  for  Grant's  movements  before 
Vicksburg,  for  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  for  the  operations 
of  his  generals.  The  Chief  of  Staff  at  first  approved  the  delays, 
till  the  army  should  be  strengthened  and  massed,  but  long  be- 
fore the  delaying  officers  were  ready  he  was  urging  movement 
with  all  of  his  power.  He  had  established  a  secret  service 
system,  then  perhaps  the  most  perfect  in  any  of  the  Union 
armies.  From  the  intelligence  it  furnished  he  felt  sure  that 
Bragg's  force  had  been  considerably  reduced,  and  was  now 
greatly  inferior  to  that  of  Rosecrans.  As  he  subsequently  said, 
lie  refused  to  believe  that  this  army,  which  defented  a  superior 
foe  at  Stone  River,  could  not  now  move  upon  aii  inferior  one 
with  reasonable  prospects  of  success. 

Finally,  General  Rosecrans  formally  asked  his  corps,  division, 
and  calvary  generals  as  to  the  propriety  of  a  movement.  With 
singular  unanimity,  though  for  diverse  reasons,  they  opposed  it. 
Out  of  seventeen  generals,  not  one  was  in  favor  of  an  immediate 
advance,  and  not  one  was  even  willing  to  put  himself  on  record 
as  in  favor  of  an  early  advance. 

General  Garfield  collated  the  seventeen  letters  sent  in  from 
the  generals  in  reply  to  the  questions  of  their  commander,  and 
fairly  reported  their  substance,  coupled  with  a  cogent  argument 
against  them  and  in  favor  of  an  immediate  movement.  This 
report  we  venture  to  pronounce  the  ablest  military  document 
known  to  have  been  submitted  by  a  Chief  of  Staff  to  his 

portaut  subordinate  positions,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  this  offer 
of  an  opportunity  to  come  out  from  the  cloud  under  which  they 
rested  would  insure  then  gratitude  and  incite  them  to  their  very 
best  efforts. 


2UH  LIFE  Of  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD. 

superior  during  the  war.  General  Garfield  stood  absolutely 
alonc,  every  general  commanding  troops  having,  as  we  have 
seen,  either  openly  opposed  or  failed  to  approve  an  advance. 
But  his  statements  were  so  clear  and  his  arguments  so  forcible 
that  he  carried  conviction. 

Twelve  days  after  the  reception  of  this  report  the  army  moved 
— to  the  great  dissatisfaction  of  its  leading  generals.  One  of 
the  three  corps  commanders,  Major-General  Thomas  L.  Crit- 
tenden,  approached  the  Chief  of  Staff  at  the  headquarters  on 
the  morning  of  the  advance  :  "  It  is  understood,  sir,"  he  said, 
"  by  the  general  officers  of  the  army,  that  this  movement  is 
your  work.  I  wish  you  to  understand  that  it  is  a  rash  and  fatal 
move,  for  which  you  will  be  held  responsible." 

This  rash  and  fatal  move  was  the  Tullahoma  campaign — a 
campaign  perfect  in  its  conception,  excellent  in  its  general  exe- 
cution, and  only  hindered  from  resulting  in  the  complete  de- 
struction of  the  opposing  army  by  the  delays  which  had  too 
long  postponed  its  commencement.  It  might  even  yet  have  de- 
stroyed Bragg  but  for  the  terrible  season  of  rains  which  set  in 
on  the  morning  of  the  advance,  and  continued  uninterruptedly 
for  the  greater  part  of  a  month.  "With  a  week's  earlier  start  it 
would  have  ended  the  career  of  Bragg's  army  in  the  war. 

There  now  sprang  up  renewed  differences  between  General 
Rosecrans  and  the  War  Department.  In  the  general  policy  that 
controlled  the  movements  of  the  army  Garfield  heartily  sympa- 
thized ;  he  had,  in  fact,  aided  to  give  shape  to  that  policy. 
But  he  had  deplored  his  chief's  testy  manner  of  conducting  his 
defence  to  the  complaints  of  the  "War  Department,  and  did  his 
best  to  soften  the  asperities  of  the  correspondence. 

At  last  came  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  Such  by  this  time 
had  come  to  be  Garfield's  influence,  that  he  was  nearly  always 
consulted  and  often  followed.  He  wrote  every  order  issued 
that  day — one  only  cxcepted.  This  he  did  rarely  as  an  amanu- 
ensis, but  rather  on  the  suggestions  of  his  own  judgment,  after- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFTELD.  20? 

ward  submitting  what  lie  had  prepared  to  Rosecrans  for  ap 
proval  or  change.  The  one  order  which  he  did  not  write  was 
the  fatal  order  to  Wood  which  lost  the  battle.  The  meaning 
was  correct ;  the  words,  however,  did  not  clearly  represent 
what  Rosecrans  meant,  and  the  division  commander  in  question 
so  interpreted  them  as  to  destroy  the  right  wing. 

The  general  commanding  and  his  Chief  of  Staff  were  caught 
iu  the  tide  of  the  disaster  and  borne  back  toward  Chattanooga 
The  Chief  of  Staff  was  sent  to  communicate  with    Thomas, 
while  the  general  proceeded  to  prepare  for  the  reception  of  the 
routed  army. 

Such  at  least  were  the  statements  of  the  reports,  and,  in  a 
technical  sense,  they  were  true.  It  should  never  be  forgotten, 
however,  in  Garfleld's  praise,  that  it  was  on  his  own  jearnest 
representations  that  he  was  sent — that,  in  fact,  he  rather  pro 
cured  permission  to  go  to  Thomas  and  so  back  into  the  battle, 
than  received  orders  to  do  so.  He  refused  to  believe  that 
Thomas  was  routed  or  the  battle  lost.  He  found  the  road  en- 
vironed with  dangers  ;  some  of  his_escort  were  killed,  and  they 
all  narrowly  escaped  death  or  capture.  But  he  bore  to  Thomas 
the  first  news  that  officer  had  received  of  the  disaster  on  the 
right,  and  gave  the  information  on  which  he  was  able  to  extricate 
his  command.  At  seven  o'clock  that  evening,  under  the  per- 
sonal supervision  of  General  Gordon  Granger  and  himself,  :i 
shotted  salute  from  a  battery  ofsix  Napoleon  guns  was  fired  into 
the  woods  after  the  last  of  the  retreating  assailants.  They 
were  the  last  shots  of  the  battle  of  Chiekarnauga,  and  what  was 
left  of  the  Union  Army  was  master  of  the  field.  For  the  time 
the  enemy  evidently  regarded  himself  as  re  -pulsed  ;  and  Gar- 
field  said  that  night,  and  has  always  since  maintained,  that 
there  was  no  necessity  for  the  immediate  retreat  on  Rossville. 

Practically,  this  was  the  close  of  General  Garfield's  military 
career.  A  year  before,  while  he  was  absent  in  the  army,  and 
without  any  solicitation  on  his  part,  he  had  been  elected  to 


•^08  LIFE  OF  JAMK8  A.   OARFIELD. 

Congress  from  the  okl  Giddirigs  district,  in  which  he  resided. 
He  was  now,  after  a  few  weeks1  service  witli  Rosecrans  at  Chat- 
tanooga, sent  on  to  Washington  as  the  bearer  of  despatches. 
He  there  learned  of  his  promotion  lo  a  major-generalship  of 
volunteers,  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  at  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga. "  He  might  have  retained  this  position  in  the 
army  ;  and  the  military  capacity  he  had  displayed,  the  high 
favor  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  Government,  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  his  assignment  to  important  commands,  seemed  to 
augur  a  brilliant  future.  He  was  a  poor  man,  too,  and  the  major- 
general's  salary  was  more  than  double  that  of  the  Congress- 
man. But  on  mature  reflection  he  decided  that  the  circum- 
stances under  which  the  people  had  elected  him  to  Congress 
hound  him  up  to  an  effort  to  obey  their  wishes.  He  was  fur 
thermore  urged  to  enter  Congress  by  the  officers  of  the  army. 
who  looked  to  him  for  aid  in  procuring  such  military  legisla- 
tion as  the  country  and  the  army  required.  Under  the  belief 
that  the  path  of  usefulness  to  the  country  lay  in  the  direction 
in  which  his  constituents  pointed,  he  sacrificed  what  seemed  to 
be  his  personal  interests,  and  on  the  5th  of  December.-  1863, 
resigned  his  commission,  after  nearly  three  years'  service. 

General  Garfield's  military  career  was  not  of  a  nature  to  sub- 
ject him  to  trials  on  a  large  scale.  He  approved  himself  a  good 
independent  commander  in  the  small  operations  in  the  Sandy 
Valley.  His  campaign  there  opened  our  series  of  successes  in 
the  West  ;  and,  though  fought  against  superior  forces,  began 
with  us  the  habit  of  victory.  After  that  he  was  only  a  subor- 
dinate, but  he  always  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  immediate 
superiors,  and  of  the  department.  As  a  chief  of  staff  he  was 
.unrivalled.  There,  as  elsewhere,  he  was  ready  to  accept  the 
gravest  responsibilities  in  following  his  convictions.  The  bent 
of  his  mind  was  aggressive  ;  his  judgment  of  purely  military 
matters  was  good  ;  his  papers  on  the  Tullahoma  campaign  will 
stand  a  monument  of  his  courage  and  his  far-reaching,  soldierly 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD.  209 

sagacity  ;  and  his  conduct  at  Chickamauga  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  a  nation  of  brave  men.1 


CHAPTER  IX. 

QARFIELD   AT   CHICKAMAUGA. 

THE  foregoing  chapter  closes  the  extract  from  Whitelaw 
Reid's  history  of  "  Ohio  in  the  War."  As  an  appropriate  pen- 
dant, the  following  letter  from  W.  F.  G.  Shanks,  which  re 
cently  appeared  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  is  added.  Mr. 
Shanks  was  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  as  a  correspondent  of 
the  New  York  Herald  : 

A  good  deal  of  surprised  comment  was  made,  during  the 
sessions  of  the  Chicago  Convention,  at  the  statesmanlike  utter- 
ances and  attitude  of  General  Garfield  before  it,  as  though  such 
might  not  have  been  expected.  His  moderation,  his  candor, 
his  evident  sincerity  and  earnestness,  and  his  conciliatory  and 
politic  utterances  are  not  new  to  the  style  ami  manner  of  the 
man.  He  has  distinguished  himself  in  the  display  of  the  same 
argumentative  and  diplomatic  qualities  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion. In  fact,  General  Garfi eld's  military  record  is  that  of  one 
who  was  at  once  warrior  and  statesman,  equally  brave  in  the 
field  and  sagacious  in  counsels  affecting  the  policy,  if  not  the 
military  conduct,  of  the  war. 

One  of  the  first  incidents  of  his  military  career  to  bring  him 
into  general  notice  was  not  a  feat  of  war,  but  of  argument.  In 
January,  1863,  he  became  the  Chief  of  Staff  to  Major  General 
William  S.  Rosecrans,  then  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the. 
Cumberland.  How  he  came  to  be  selected  by  Rosecrans  tin- 
present  writer  does  not  remember,  but  it  was  soon  after  the 
battle  of  Stone  lliver,  in  which  the  former  chief  was  killed 
i^iiiield  was  looked  upon  as  about  the  only  mature  member  of 


210  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

the  staff,  Rosecrans  having  a  partiality  for  young  and  gallant 
spirits  like  Captain  Charles  Thompson,  Major  Bond,  Colonel 
Mickler.  Captain  Hunter  Brooke,  Major  Horace  Porter,  subse- 
quently on  Grant's  staff,  and  Major  Morton  McMichael.  Not 
that  Garfield  was  much  older  than  these,  but  he  had  a  mature 
look  always,  and  his  mood  was  ever  serious,  as  if  there  was  in 
the  peril  of  the  Nation  something  more  of  personal  concern  and 
personal  interest  to  him  than  to  most  of  his  associates.  It  was 
while  Garfield  was  acting  in  this  capacity  under  Rosecrans  that 
Clement  C.  Vallandigham,  of  Ohio,  banished  to  the  South  for 
his  treasonable  sentiments,  was  brought  to  Murfreesboro,  Tenn., 
where  the  army  lay,  to  be  sent  by  a  flag  of  truce,  into  the 
rebel  lines,  a  few  miles  distant,  at  Tullahoma.  When  brought 
into  camp,  Vallandigham  was  taken,  in  the  usual  course  of 
business,  to  Rosecrans's  headquarters,  and  he  and  Garfield  being 
acquaintances,  it  was  natural  that  they  should  fall  into  con- 
versation, and  equally  natural  that  the  conversation  should  be  in 
regard  to  the  policy  and  conduct  of  the  war  in  a  political  sense. 
The  conversation  was  reported  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Gazette,  who  was  present,  and  was  copied  into  almost 
every  paper  of  the  country,  both  loyal  and  rebel,  as  a  fine  illus- 
tration of  sound  and  argumentative  views  on  both  sides.  The 
comments  of  the  loyal  papers  were  highly  complimentary  to 
General  Garfield,  and  this  brought  him  into  paiticular  notice. 
His  last  words  with  Vallandigham  on  the  next  morning,  just 
as  the  latter  was  about  to  be  escorted  into  the  rebel  lines,  at 
once  finely  illustrated  Garfield's  quickness  and  neatness  at  repar- 
tee and  that  familiarity  on  his  part  with  Shakespeare  without 
which  no  education  can  be  said  to  be  complete.  Vallandig- 
ham, on  his  appearance  in  the  room  at  a  very  early  hour  of  the 
morning,  with  an  affectation  of  unconcern  and  light-heartedness 
which  he  could  not  have  felt,  threw  himself  into  a  tragic  air, 
and  in  a  mock  heroic  vein  exclaimed,  from  Romeo  and  Juliet  ; 

"  Night's  caudles  are  burnt  out,  and  jocund  day 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain-tops. " 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  211 

Here  he  hesitated,  when  Garfield  quickly  but  quietly  finished 
the  speech  by  adding,  in  a  half  aside,  to  the  aide  de-camp  in 
charge  of  the  flag  of  truce  escort,  waiting  to  convey  Vallandig- 
ham  to  the  rebel  lines  : 

"  1  must  begone  and  live,  or  stay  and  die." 

Vallandigham,  however,  overheard  and  caught  the  hidden- 
meaning  of  the  citation,  and  blushed  scarlet  as  he  made  its  ap- 
plication. 

Later  on,  in  the  campaign  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
against  Bragg  at  Chattanooga,  Garfield  again  encountered  a 
prominent  Southern  gentleman  in  argument  as  to  the  policy  of 
the  war.  What  Garfield  said  was  a  powerful  plea,  in  advance,  for 
the  policy  subsequently  adopted  of  freeing  and  arming  the 
slaves  of  the  South.  This  was  published  in  the  Cincinnati  Ga- 
zette about  the  last  of  August,  1863,  and  would  be  well  worth 
reproducing  as  an  illustration  of  the  clear,  forcible,  and  logical 
views  of  the  then  comparatively  young  politician  on  the  great 
questions  of  the  time.  Like  the  interview  with  Vallandigham, 
the  conversation  was  quoted  all  over  the  North  and  served  to 
bring  Garfield  into  further  notice. 

The  first  martial  achievement  of  Garfield  which  attracted  gen- 
eral attention  was  his  conduct  at  Chickamauga,  on  the  second 
day  of  that  battle,  September  20th,  1863.  His  conspicuous  bra- 
very on  that  occasion  won  for  him  the  rank  of  major-general. 
As  Chief  of  Staff,  it  was  his  duty  to  remain  with  Geueral  Rose- 
crans,  and  it  happened  that  the  latter  had  established  his  head- 
quarters for  the  day  in  the  rear  of  the  right  wing  and  centre, 
leaving  General  George  H.  Thomas  to  look  personally  to  the 
direction  of  the  left  wing.  McCook  and  Crittenden  were  com- 
manders of  the  other  two  corps.  Soon  after  the  fog,  which  for 
the  most  of  the  morning  enveloped,  the  field  and  made  manoeu- 
vring almost  impossible,  the  rebels,  under  Longstrcet,  who  had 
come  from  Lee's  Virginia  army  to  take  part  in  this  great  con- 


212  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD. 

test,  made  a  grand  assault  on  the  right  and  centre.  A  division 
of*Crittenden's  corps  was  moving  to  the  left  at  this  juncture, 
and  the  gap  in  the  line  had  not  been  filled  by  other  troops  when 
the  attack  was  made.  The  rebels  penetrated  far  to  the  rear  of 
the  Union  line  at  this  point,  and  turned  and  drove  back  the 
right  of  Thomas's  forces  and  the  left  of  the  other  two  corps. 
^The  latter  were  eventually  routed,  driven  across  a  ridge  of  hills 
to  roads  leading  into  Chattanooga,  toward  which  they  retreated 
in  dreadful  disorder  and  panic.  Thomas,  however,  held  his 
ground,  withdrawing  his  right  only  a  little.  In  the  tumult  of 
the  defeat  of  the  right  and  centre,  McCook,  Crittenden,  and 
Rosecrans,  with  their  staff  officers,  were  driven  beyond  the 
ridge  named,  and  they  too  started  for  Chattanooga,  not  know- 
ing how  Thomas  had  fared.  Garfield  followed  his  commander 
about  half  way  to  Chattanooga,  but  refused  to  go  any  farther, 
and  accompanied  only  by  his  orderly  and  Captain  William  B. 
(Jaw,  of  the  Engineers,  who  offered  to  act  as  his  guide,  he  rode 
through  Rossville  Gup  in  the  mountain  range,  and  pushed 
southward  again  in  search  of  General  Thomas,  the  firing  of 
whose  guns,  indicating  that  there  was  a  brisk  right  still  going 
on,  could  be  distinctly  heard.  Garfield  on  this  occasion  liter- 
ally followed  the  Napoleonic  maxim  for  the  guidance  of  his 
generals  :  "  March  in  the  direction  of  the  heaviest  firing.'" 

At  the  time  he  made  this  attempt  the  road  by  which  Garfield 
expected  to  reach  General  Thomas  was  under  cover  of  the  sharp- 
shooters and  advance  guards  of  the  rebels,  who  were  pushing 
forward  to  secure  possession  of  the  road  and  thereby  cut  off 
Tliomas's  line  of  retreat.  Garfield  did  not  know  of  thdr  pres- 
ence there  until  admonished  of  it  by  the  sharp  fire  of  the  enemy. 
The  horses  of  both  Garfield  and  Gaw  were  shot  at  the  first  fire, 
and  Garfield's  orderly  was  wounded.  They  were  compelled  to 
swerve  from  the  beaten  ro;td  and  take  to  the  fields  and  moun- 
tain-side. Gaw  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the  topography, 


LIFE  OF  JAMK8  A.  GARFIELD.  21i5 

and  following  his  guidance  Garfield  ran  the  gauntlet  of  the 
rebel  line  and  finally  reached  General  Thomas  in  safety. 

He  reached  the  "  Rock  of  Chickamauga  "  just  after  the  re- 
pulse of  the  enemy  in  a  formidable  assault  all  along  Thomas's 
line,  which  the  rebels  enveloped  on  both  flanks.  He  found 
Thomas  and  his  staff,  General  Gordon  Granger,  General  James 
B.  Steedman,  General  Wood,  and  others  grouped  in  a  hollow  of 
an  open  field,  a  depression  just  sufficient  to  protect  them  from' 
the  rebel  fire.  It  is  all  a  myth  about  General  Thomas  standing 
on  a  big  rock,  his  breast  thrown  out  in  defiant  attitude,  with  a 
look  of  scorn  on  his  face.  There  were  no  rocks  on  the  field  ; 
none  nearer  than  Lookout  Mountain,  ten  miles  away.  The 
fact  was  that  Thomas  was  very  glad  of  the  security  afforded  by 
the  depression  in  the  field,  and  his  look  was  one  of  much  con- 
cern and  anxiety,  and  everybody  knew  that  he  was  heartily 
wishing  it  was  nightfall,  that  he  might  slip  away  and  get  back 
to  Chattanooga.  The  historic  scene  was  sketched  shortly  after, 
and  a  very  accurate  painting  of  it,  by  Walker,  hangs  on  the 
walls  of  General  J.  Watts  DePeyster,  in  this  city.  There 
were  several  dead  trees  still  standing,  and  numbers  of  those 
present  in  the  group  did  not  disdain  their  shelter,  so  near  were 
the  rebel  marksmen,  posted  high  in  the  branches  of  trees  for 
the  purpose  of  firing  on  the  group. 

When  Garfield  reached  Thomas,  he  at  once  gave  the  latter  a 
brief  account  of  the  disaster  to  the  right  and  centre,  aud  heard 
from  General  Thomas  a  statement  of  his  own  situation  and  in- 
tention. This  conversation  was  cut  short  by  another  assault  of 
the  rebel  lines.  It  was  made  with  great  force  and  in  great 
desperation,  the  rebels  evidently  foreseeing  that  if  repulsed  they 
could  not  get  their  troops  in  position  for  still  another  attack 
before  the  sun  went  down.  The  fire  lasted  furiously  for  half 
an  hour,  when  the  rebels  again  broke  and  abandoned  the  as- 
sault. During  all  this  fight  General  Garfield  quietly  sat  on  the 
ground,  behind  one  of  the  dead  trees  alluded  to,  and  coolly  in- 


214  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

dited  a  dispatch  to  General  Rosecrans,  detailing  the  situation. 
While  he  sat  there,  and  during  the  heaviest  of  the  firing,  a 
white  dove,  after  hovering  around  and  above  for  several  min- 
utes, finally  settled  on  the  topmost  perch  of  the  tree  above  Gar- 
field's  head.  Here  it  remained  during  the  heat  of  the  fight, 
and  when  the  musketry  ceased  it  flew  away  to  the  North. 
Garfield's  attention  and  that  of  General  Wood  was  called  to  the 
bird.  The  latter  said  nothing,  but  went  on  writing.  Wood 
simply  said  in  reply  :  "  Good  omen  of  peace.''  Garfield  hav- 
ing finished  his  dispatch,  sent  it  by  an  officer,  and  himself  re- 
mained on  the  field  with  General  Thomas  until  the  retreat  was 
effected  the  same  night  to  Chattanooga. 


CHAPTER  X. 

FIRST    TERM    IN    CONGRESS. 

IN  the  summer  of  1862,  when  everybody  supposed  the  war 
was  going  to  end  in  a  few  months,  a  number  of  officers  Avho 
had  gained  distinction  in  the  field,  were  taken  up  at  home  and 
elected  to  Congress.  Among  them  was  General  Garfield,  who 
was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings's  old 
district  while  with  his  brigade  in  Kentucky.  He  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  any  such  movement  in  his  behalf,  and  when  he  accepted 
the  nomination,  he  did  so  in  the  belief  that  the  rebellion  would 
be  subdued  before  he  would  be  called  upon  to  take  his  seat  in 
the  House  in  December,  1863.  His  nomination  was  partly  the 
result  of  his  military  fame  and  partly  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  friends  of  Giddings  to  defeat  his  successor,  John  Hut- 
chins,  who  had  pushed  him  out  of  Congress  four  years  before 
Garfield's  popularity  made  him  the  most  available  man  in  the 
district  for  this  purpose.  He  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  215 

Hi-  continued  his  military  service  up  to  the  day  of  the  meeting 
!  Congress.  Even  then  he  seriously  thought  of  resigning  his 
position  as  a  Representative  rather  than  his  Major-General's 
commission,  and  would  have  done  so  had  not  Lincoln  urged 
him  to  enter  Congress.  He  has  often  expressed  regret  that  he 
did  not  fight  the  war  through.  Had  he  done  so,  he  would  no 
doubt  have  ranked  at  its  close  among  the  foremost  of  the  vic- 
torious Generals  of  the  Republic,  for  he  displayed  in  his  Sandy 
Valley  campaign  and  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  the  highest 
qualities  of  generalship.  A  brilliant  opening  awated  him  in  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  General  Thomas  wanted  him  to  take 
command  of  a  corps.  President  Lincoln  told  him  he  greatly 
needed  the  influence  in  the  House  of  one  who  had  had  practical 
military  experience  to  push  through  the  needed  war  legislation. 
He  yielded,  and  on  the  5th  of  December,  1863,  gave  up  his  gen- 
eralship and  took  his  seat  in  the  House. 

He  was  appointed  on  the  Military  Committee,  under  the  chair- 
manship of  General  Schenck,  and  was  of  great  service  in  carry- 
ing through  the  measures  which  recruited  the  armies  during 
the  closing  years  of  the  war.  Schenck  had  just  come  out  of  the 
army  with  a  shattered  right  arm  and  a  Major-General's  epau- 
lets. The  two  Ohio  soldiers  became  fast  friends  and  co- 
workers.  Th^y  took  lodgings  in  the  same  house,  ate  at  the 
same  table,  and  devoted  their  combined  energies  to  carrying- 
through  Congress  such  practical  legislation  as  their  experience 
iu  the  field  had  shown  was  needed  to  fill  up  the  wasted  ranks 
and  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  forces  engaged  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  rebellion.  Garheld  opposed  the  continuance  of  the 
commutation  law,  which  allowed  men  drafted  to  escape  service 
by  paying  three  hundred  dollars,  or  by  pleading  a  variety  of  dis- 
abilities. A  draft  of  200,000  had  produced  only  13,000  men  for 
actual  service.  President  Lincoln  went  to  the  Capitol  and  told 
the  Military  Committee  that  this  law  must  be  repealed  or  the 
armies  drawn  back  and  placed  upon  the  defensive.  The  politi- 


21 6  TJFE  OF  JAMES  A,   OARF1ELD. 

cal  campaign  of  1864  was  at  hand,  and  members  of  Congress 
were  afraid  of  the  effect  of  a  vigorous  draft  upon  the  fortunes  of 
the  Republican  Party.  One  of  the  committee  reminded  Lincoln 
that  his  own  re-election  was  pending,  and  that  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  House,  and  that  the  unpopularity  of  a  draft  which 
could  not  be  evaded  might  defeat  them  all.  Lincoln  replied, 
with  a -solemnity  of  manner  unusual  with  him  :  "  It  is  not  nec- 
essary that  I  should  be  re  elected,  or  that  the  members  of  this 
Congress  should  be  re-elected,  but  it  is  necessary  that  the  re- 
bellion should  be  suppressed,  and  the  Union  restored.  Give 
me  the  men  I  ask,  and  I  will  end  the  war  with  another  year  ; 
refuse,  and  I  must  withdraw  our  armies  from  Atlanta  and  from 
the  march  to  Richmond.1"  General  Garfield  warmly  supported 
the  Piesident  ;  the  timidity  of  Congress  was  overcome  ;  the 
draft  was  vigorously  enforced,  and  the  rebellion  was  crushed 
within  the  time  Lincoln  promised. 

General  Garfield  soon  took  rank  in  the  House  as  a  ready  and  for- 
cible debater, -a  hard  worker,  and  a  diligent,  practical  legislator. 
His  superior  knowledge  used  to  offend  some  of  his  less  learned  col- 
leagues at  first.  They  thought  him  bookish  and  pedantic,  until 
they  found  how  solid  and  useful  was  his  store  of  knowledge, 
and  how  pertinent  to  the  business  in  hand  were  the  drafts  he 
made  upon  it.  His  genial  personal  ways  soon  made  him  many 
warm  friends  in  Congress.  The  men  of  brains  in  both  houses 
and  in  the  departments  were  not  long  in  discovering  that  here 
was  a  fresh,  strong  intellectual  force  that  was  destined  to  make 
its  mark  upon  the  politics  of  the  country.  They  sought  his  ac- 
quaintance, and  before  he  had  been  long  in  Washington  he  had 
the  advantage  of  the  best  society  of  the  capital. 

In  the  summer  of  .1864,  a  breach  occurred  between  the  Presi- 
dent and  some  of  the  most  radical  of  the  Republican  leaders  in 
Congress  over  the  question  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  States 
of  Arkansas  and  Louisiana.  Congress  passed  a  bill  providing 
for  the  .organization  of  loyal  governments  within  the  Union 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  217 

lines  of  these  States,  but  Lincoln  vetoed  it  and  appointed  mili- 
tary Governors.  Senator  Ben  Wade,  of  Ohio,  and  Representa- 
tive Henry  Winter  Davis,  of  Maryland,  united,  in  a  letter  to  the 
New  York  Tribune,  sharply  criticising  the  President  for  defeat- 
ing the  will  of  Congress.  This  letter  became  known  as  the 
Wade-Davis  manifesto,  and  created  a  great  sensation  in  politi 
cal  circles.  The  story  got  about  in  the  Nineteenth  District  that 
General  Garfield  had  expressed  sympathy  with  the  position  of 
Wade  and  Davis.  His  constituents  condemned  the  document, 
and  were  strongly  disposed  to  set  him  aside  and  nominate 
another  man  for  Congress.  When  the  convention  met  the 
feeling  against  Garfield  was  so  pronounced  that  he  regarded  his 
re-nomination  as  hopeless.  He  was  called  upon  to  explain  IIK-* 
course.  He  went  upon  the  platform  and  everybody  expected 
something  in  the  nature  of  an  apology,  but  he  boldly  defended 
his  position,  approved  the  manifesto,  justified  Wade,  and  said 
he  had  nothing  to  retract  and  could  not  change  his  honest  con- 
victions for  the  sake  of  a  seat  in  Congress.  He  had  great  re- 
spect, he  said,  for  the  opinions  of  his  constituents,  but  greater 
regard  for  his  own.  If  he  could  serve  them  as  an  independent 
Representative,  acting  on  his  own  judgment  and  conscience,  he 
would  be  glad  to  do  so,  but  if  not,  he  did  not  want  their  nom- 
ination ;  he  would  prefer  to  be  an  independent  private  citizen. 
Probably  no  man  ever  talked  in  that  way  before  or  since  to  a 
body  of  men  who  held  his  political  fate  in  their  hands.  Leav- 
ing the  platform,  he  strode  out  of  the  hall  and  down  the  stairs, 
supposing  that  he  had  effectually  cut  his  own  throat.  Scarcely 
had  he  disappeared  when  one  of  the  youngest  delegates  sprang 
up  and  said  :  ''  The  man  who  has  the  courage  to  face  a  conven- 
tion like  that  deserves  a  nomination.  I  move  that  General  Gar- 
field  be  nominated  by  acclamation,"  The  motion  was  carried 
with  a  shout  which  reached  the  ears  of  the  Congressman  and 
arrested  him  on  the  sidewalk  as  he  was  returning  to  the  hotel. 
He  was  re-elected  by  a  majority  of  over  12,000. 


218  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

• 

CHAPTER  XL 

IN   CONGRESS— 1865   TO    1867. 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  in  December, 
1865,  General  Garfield  asked  Speaker  Coif  ax  to  transfer  him 
from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  to  that  of  Ways  and 
Means,  saying  that  in  the  near  future  financial  questions  would 
occupy  the  attention  of  the  country  and  he  desired  to  be  in  a 
position  to  study  them  carefully  in  advance.  The  Military 
Committee  having  on  its  hands  the  work  of  reorganizing  the 
Regular  Army  on  a  peace  basis,  was  the  more  important  of  the 
two  at  the  time,  but  Garfield  foresaw  the  storm  of  agitation  and 
delusion  concerning  the  debt  and  the  currency  which  was  soon 
to  break  upon  the  country,  and  wisely  prepared  to  meet  it.  He 
began  a  long  and  severe  course  of  study,  ransacking  tin;  Con- 
gressional Library  for  works  that  threw  light  on  the  experience 
of  other  countries,  and  that  gave  the  ideas  of  the  thinkers  and 
statesmen  of  all  nations  on  these  subjects.  As  he  read  he  made 
copious  notes,  which  were  of  great  service  to  him  in  after  years. 
Most  of  all  he  studied  the  history  of  the  long  suspension  of 
specie  payments  in  Great  Britain  during  and  after  the  Napo- 
leonic wars.  He  used  to  sit  at  his  library-table  until  long  after 
midnight,  surrounded  by  volumes  of  Parliamentary  reports  and 
debates.  In  them  he  found  every  dishonest  theory  and  wild 
delusion  respecting  the  public  debt  and  paper  money  which 
was  afterward  advanced  in  this  country  as  new  and  beneficial 
discoveries.  The  Bullion  Report  of  Horncr  and  Iluskissou 
was  like  a  flood  of  light  to  him.  He  used  to  characterize  it  as 
the  bulwark  of  sound  currency  ideas  for  this  whole  century. 
It  demonstrated  by  facts  too  plain  for  controversy  that  gold  had 
not  risen  during  the  suspension,  but  was  still  the  measure  of 
values,  though  out  of  use  as  currency,  and  that  it  was  paper 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  219 

which  wem,  up  and  down.  In  Sir  Robert  Peel's  manly  avowal 
in  1820  that  Homer  had  been  right  in  1810  and  he  wrong,  and 
in  his  subsequent  sturdy  defence  of  specie  payments,  he  found 
much  instructive  material  which  he  afterward  used  to  good 
effect  in  the  battles  he  led  against  inflation  and  repudiation. 

Then  lie  went  back  to  study  the  history  of  the  Continental 
currency,  and  still  further  back  to  the  French  assignats  and  the 
George  Law  scheme,  and  afterward  passed  down  the  line  of 
early  American  statesmen,  gathering  their  wisdom  to  reinforce 
his  belief  that  the  precious  metals  were  the  only  trustworthy 
standards  of  value.  All  this  time  there  was  not  a  ripple  of 
financial  agitation  in  Congress.  The  public  mind  was  wholly 
occupied  with  the  new  Constitutional  Amendments  and  the 
legislation  for  reconstructing  the  Rebel  States.  In  the  passage 
of  those  amendments  and  that  legislation  lie  bore  a  prominent 
part,  but  he  never  relaxed  his  financial  studies.  They  gave  him 
the  firm  basis  of  fact  and  conviction  which  was  like  a  rock 
under  his  feet  in  alt  the  turbulent  agitation  of  the  following 
years.  He  forged  from  them  a  sharp  sword  to  slash  the  wind- 
bag paper-money  schemes  of  demagogues  and  fanatics,  and  to 
cut  to  pieces  the  many  projects  which  arose  for  repudiating  the 
obligations  of  the  nation  to  its  creditors. 

His  membership  of  the  Ways  and  Means  opened  up  a  line  of 
congenial  work  in  connection  with  the  tariff  and  the  system 
of  internal  revenue  taxation.  These  two  sources  of  income, 
gauged  to  the  needs  of  the  war,  had  to  be  changed  to  conform 
to  the  conditions  of  peace.  In  the  course  of  this  work  and  of 
the  investigations  which  accompanied  it,  he  reached  a  conclusion 
upon  the  tariff  question  from  which  he  has  never  departed1 
since — namely,  that  whatever  may  be  the  truth  or  falsity  of 
abstract  theories  about  free  trade,  the  interests  of  the  United 
States  require  a  moderate  protective  system.  He  made  a  speech 
in  which  he  expressed  his  views  on  this  subject  very  clearly, 
Subsequent  experience  and  study  has  shown  him  no  occasion 


220  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFTELD. 

for  modifying  those  views.  In  March,  1866,  he  made  his  first 
speech  on  the  currency  question,  and  took  strong  ground  in 
favor  of  a  speedy  return  to  specie  payments.  "  On  the  one  side," 
he  said,  "it  is  proposed  to  return  to  solid  and  honest,  values  ; 
on  the  other  to  float  on  the  boundless  and  shoreless  sea  of  paper 
money,  with  all  its  dishonesty  and  broken  pledges.  I,  for  one, 
am  unwilling  that  my  name  shall  be  linked  to  the  fate  of  a 
paper  currency.  I  believe  that  any  party  which  commits  itself 
to  paper  money  will  go  down  amid  the  general  disaster,  covered 
with  the  curses  of  a  ruined  people.'1  In  that  speech  he  traced 
the  history  of  suspension  in  England  and  drew  from  it  a  warn- 
ing for  this  country  which  few  were  disposed  to  heed  at  the 
time. 

General  Garfield's  third  nominaton,  in  1866  was  not  accom- 
plished without  resistance.  Some  of  the  iron-workers  in  the 
southern  part  of  his  district  were  dissatisfied  because  he  was 
not  willing  to  go  to  the  extreme  length  of  an  almost  prohibitive 
tariff  on  their  products.  They  brought  forward  as  their  candi- 
date the  old  member  John  Hutchins,  whose  place  Garfield  had 
taken  four  years  before,  and  made  an  active  canvass  of  the 
district,  flooding  it  with  circulars  attacking  Garfield'?  record 
in  Congress,  and  charging  him,  without  evidence,  with  being  a 
free  trader.  They  elected  a  small  minority  of  the  delegates  to 
the  nominating  convention,  but  their  strength  was  not  great 
enough  to  make  a  showing  against  a  movement  to  renominate 
Garfield  by  acclamation.  In  after-years,  when  the  crash  of  187" 
had  shown  the  folly  of  over-stimulating  manufactures  by  ex- 
orbitant tariffs,  these  same  iron-masters  became  convinced  that 
'he  was  their  best  friend. 

In  the  summer  of  1867  General  Garfield  went  to  Europe,  and 
made  a  rapid  tour   through  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent 
His  health  failed   under  the  pressure  of  too   much  bruin-work, 
and  he  took  this  means  of  recuperating.   This  was  the  only  year 
since  he  entered   public   life  that  he  had  been  absent  from  si 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD.  221 

political  campaign.  He  returned  late  in  the  fall  to  find  that 
Pendletouism — a  demand  for  the  payment  of  the  bonded  debt 
in  irredeemable  green  back  notes — had  run  rampant  in  Ohio,  and 
had  taken  possession  of  the  Republican  Party  as  well  as  of  the 
Democracy.  A  reception  was  given  him  at  Jefferson,  in  his 
district,  which  assumed  the  form  of  a  public  meeting.  He  was 
told  that  he  had  better  say  nothing  about  his  financial  views, 
for  his  constituents  had  made  up  their  minds  that  the  bonds 
ought  to  be  redeemed  in  greenbacks.  He  made  a  speech  in 
which  he  told  his  fridnds  plainly  that  they  were  deluded,  that 
there  could  be  no  honest  money  not  redeemable  in  coin  and  no 
honest  payment  of  the  debt  could  be  made  save  in  coin,  aud 
that  as  long  as  he  was  their  representative  he  should  stand  on 
that  ground,  whatever  might  be  their  views.  The  speech 
produced  a  deep  impression  throughout  the  district.  The  next 
June  the  National  Republican  Convention  took  sound  ground 
upon  the  debt  and  currency  questions,  and  most  Republicans 
who  had  been  carried  away  by  Pendeltonism  grew  ashamed  of 
their  folly. 

In  the  Fortieth  Congress  General  Garfield  was  put  back  upon 
the  Military  Committee  and  made  its  chairman.  The  work  was 
hardly  to  his  taste  but  there  was  plenty  of  it  to  do,  and  he 
engaged  in  it  with  his  usual  energy.  It  consisted  mainly  in 
tying  up  the  loose  threads  of  the  war,  examining  the  claims 
for  pay  and  bounty  of  irregular  military  organizations  and  of 
officers  and  men  in  whose  records  there  were  technical  errors. 
General  Garfield  set  on  foot  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
condition  of  the  army,  the  organization  and  efficiency  of  the 
staff  and  liuc,  and  sought  to  correct  by  legislation  the  errors  of 
routine  and  tradition,  and  to  modernize  the  service.  He  pre- 
pared a  report  which  has  since 'been  a  standard  work  in  military 
circles. 

The  time  for  taking  the  decennial  census  was  at  hand,  aud 
on  his  motion  a  special  committee  was  raised  to  prepare  the 


222  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELJ). 

needed  legislation.  Although  second  on  the  committee,  he  was 
its  acting  chairman.  The  committee  devoted  six  weeks  to  the 
study  of  the  subject,  and  prepared  a  bill  which  considerably 
enlarged  the  field  of  statistics  to  be  covered  by  the  census,  and 
sought  to  make  the  returns  far  more  valuable  than  before  to 
the  political  economist  and  the  sociologist.  The  bill  passed  the 
House  but  failed  in  the  Senate,  and  the  census  of  1870  was 
taken  under  the  old  law.  Ten  years  later,  however,  the  Gar- 
field  bill  was  revived,  and  with  a  few  modifications  made  by 
the  Commissioner  of  the  Census,  became  the  law  for  the  census 
of  1880. 

General  Garfield  got  a  bill  through  for  the  establishment  of 
a  National  Bureau  of  Education,  in  response  to  a  report  of  the 
National  Teachers'  Association.  This  bureau  is  hia  own 
creation,  and  he  had  to  defend  it  for  many  years  against  the 
assaults  of  the  weak-government  people,  who  did  not  want  any 
new  function  added  to  the  Federal  Government.  At  last,  how- 
ever, its  utility  was  so  fully  demonstrated  that  the  attacks 
ceased. 

In  1868  Garfield  was  renominated  without  opposition,  and 
chosen  a  fourth  time  to  represent  his  district. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

IN   CONGRESS — 1869-1875. 

ON  the  organization  of  the  Forty-first  Congress,  in  December, 
1869,  General  Garfield  was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Banking  and  Currency.  The  inflation  movement  was  rapidly 
gathering  force  in  the  country,  and  men  of  both  parties  in  Con- 
gress were  swept  into  it  by  fear  of  their  constituents.  A  cry 
\vas  set  up  that  times  were  getting  hard  because  there  was  not 
money  enough  to  do  the  business  of  the  people.  The  West,  par^ 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARF1ELD.  223 

ticularly,  clamored  for  more  currency.  The  necessary  shrinkage 
from  war  prices  was  taken  as  a  proof  of  a  dearth  of  circulating 
medium.  False  tabular  statements  were  circulated,  making  a 
contrast  between  the  amount  of  currency  in  circulation  in  1865 
and  1860.  T3eneral  Gartield  led  the  opposition  to  inflation.  See- 
ing that  what  the  people  needed  to  lead  them  to  right  conclusions 
was  information,  he  studied  the  situation  with  great  care  and  his 
speeches  bristled  with  facts  which  could  not  be  controverted. 
Finally,  after  a  long  fight  in  his  committee  with  the  men  who 
wanted  to  throw  out  a  flood  of  new  greenbacks,  he  brought  in 
and  carried  through  Congress,  a  bill  allowing  an  addition  of 
fifty-four  millions  to  the  national  bank  circulation  and  giving 
preference  in  the  assignment  of  the  new  issue  to  the  States 
which  had  less  than  their  quota  of  the  old  circulation.  This 
measure  was  a  stunning  blow  to  the  inflation  movement.  The 
new  issue  was  not  all  taken  up  for  four  years,  and  during  all 
that  time  it  was  a  sufficient  answer  to  all  demands  for  "  more 
money'r  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  was  currency 
waiting  in  the  Treasury  for  any  one  who  would  organize  a 
bank.  Soon  after  the  fifty-four  millions  were  applied  for 
national  banking  was  made  perfectly  free.  Then  the  in- 
flationists were  forced  to  change  their  ground,  assault  the  banks, 
and  claim  that  it.  was  greenbacks  which  were  to  bless  the  coun- 
try, and  make  people  rich,  and  no  other  kind  of  paper  money. 
The  New  York  gold  panic  came  during  General  Gartield 's 
chairmanship  of  the  Banking  Committee.  Under  orders  of  the 
House,  he  conducted  with  great  sagacity  and  thoroughness  an 
investigation  which  exposed  all  the  secrets  of  the  gold  gamblers1 
plot  which  culminated  in  "  Black  Friday''.  He  made  a  report 
whi-.'h  was  a  complete  history  of  the  affair,  and  the  lesson  lie 
drew  from  it  was  that  the  only  certain  remedy  against  the 
i<Turrence  of  such  transactions  was  to  be  found  in  the  resump- 
tion of  specie  payments.  Pushing  his  researches  into  financial 
j'  ;  is.  and  defending  on  all  occasions  the  principle  that  the 


224  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

only  safe  and  sound  currency  was  one  based  upon  coin,  he 
became  the  recognized  leader  of  the  honest-money  party  in  the 
House  and  the  most  potent  single  factor  in  the  opposition  to 
inflation.  He  helped  work  up  the  bill  to  strengthen  the 
public  credit,  which  failed  to  get  through  during  the  closing 
days  of  Johnson's  administration,  but  was  passed  as  soon  as 
Grant  came  in  and  was  the  first  measure  to  which  the  new 
President  put  his  signature.  This  bill  committed  Congress 
fully  to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt  in  coin  and  was  the 
fortress  around  which  the  financial  battle  raged  in  subsequent 
years.  Thaddeus  Stevens,  deluded  in  his  old  age  by  the 
sophistries  concerning  the  greenbacks,  deserted  the  hard- 
money  side  in  the  struggle  over  the  bill,  declared  that  the 
bonds  were  payable  in  greenbacks,  and  denied  that  he  had 
taKen  other  ground  in  his  advocacy  of  the  original  five-twenty 
bond  bill  in  1862.  General  Garfield  made  an  analysis  of  the 
history  of  the  law  and  showed  that  in  the  debate  over  the  bill 
Stevens  said  six  times  that  the  bonds  were  payable  in  coin  ; 
that  everybody  so  understood  the  contract  at  the  time  ;  that  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  so  advertised  the  bonds  ;  that  the 
people  bought  them  with  the  promise  that  they  were  to  be 
so  paid.  Garfield's  speech  furnished  the  rallying  ground  for 
the  opponents  of  the  greenback  theory.  Day  after  day  the 
New  York  Tribune  kept  a  paragraph  standing  in  its  editorial 
columns  challenging  a  refutation  of  the  facts  he  had  presented. 
From  the  strong  bulwark  of  those  facts  a  successful  appeal  was 
made  to  the  conscience  of  the  American  people. 

In  December,  1871,  General  Garfield  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  important  Committee  on  Appropriations,  a  position  which 
made  him  the  leader  of  the  majority  side  of  the  House.  With 
his  old  haMt  of  doing  everything  he  xmdertook  with  the  utmost 
thoroughness,  he  made  a  laborious  study  of  the  whole  history  of 
appropriation  bills  in  this  country  and  of  the  English  budget 
system.  Especially  did  he  seek  to  discover  the  philosophic  law 


LIFE  OF  JAMEK  A.   1-iARFTELlt.  ^5 

back  of  all  legislation,  if  one  existed,  governing  the  return  of 
a  nation  from  the  high  plane  of  war  expenditures  to  the  normal 
level  of  peace.  He  found  that  the  experience  of  both  England 
and  this  country,  in  the  past,  showed  that  it  took  a  period  after 
the  close  of  a  war  about  twice  as  long  as  the  war  itself  to  get 
upon  a  peace  basis  of  expenditures. 

He  made  a  speech  in  which  he  predicted  that  by  the  end  of 
1H7(>  Congress  would  reach  the  limit  of  the  lowest  possible 
reduction  of  expenditures,  and  that  from  that  time  forward  there 
would  be  a  gradual  increase  under  the  conditions  of  peace,  in  a 
ratio  which  he  stated  in  proportion  to  the  growth  of  population 
and  the  settlement  of  new  territory.  About  a  year  ago,  in  an 
article  on  "  A  ppropriations  and  Missappropriations,  "in  the  North 
American  Revciw,  he  quoted  his  prediction  of  1871,  and  showed 
that,  it  had  come  true  within-  a  few  months  of  the  time  then 
fixed,  and  within  a  small  percentage  of  the  increase  after  that 
date  which  he  had  stated.  That  speech  of  1871  was  the  first 
regular  budget  speech,  explaining  thoroughly  the  needs  of  all 
departments  of  the  Government,  and  the  means  for  meeting 
them,  which  had  ever  been  made  in  the  House.  Thereafter, 
General  Garfield  made  such  a  speech  regularly  every  year  on 
ntroducing  the  General  Appropriation  Bill,  and  his  successors 
n  the  chairmanship  of  the  committee  have  continued  the 
mstom. 

General  Garfield  found  a  great  deal  of  looseness  and  con- 
fusion in  the  practice  concerning  estimates  and  appropriations. 
Unexpended  balances  were  lying  in  the  Treasury,  amounting 
to  $130,000,000,  beyond  the  supervision  of  Congress  and  sub- 
ject to  the  drafts  of  Government  officers.  There  were  be- 
sides what  were  called  permanent  appropriations,  which  ran  on 
from  year  to  year  without  any  legislation.  Garfield  instituted 

sweeping  reform.  He  got  laws  passed  covering  all  old 
balances  back  into  the  Treasury,  making  all  appropriations  ex- 
pire at  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  for  which  made,  unless  needed 


220  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   UARFIEL1). 

to  carry  out  contracts,  and  covering  in  all  appropriations  at  thr 
end  of  every  second  year.  At  the  same  time  he  required  the 
Executive  Departments  to  itemize  their  estimates  of  the  mom  \ 
needed  to  run  the  Government  much  more  fully  than  had  bei-n 
done  before,  so  that  Congress  could  know  just  how  every  dollar 
it  voted  was  to  be  expended. 

All  this  time  he  was  a  rigid  but  intelligent,  economist.  He  was 
often  forced  to  make  himself  unpopular  by  opposing  the 
measures  of  his  fellow-members  involving  unwise  expenditures 
of  public  money.  He  was  the  faithful  guardian  of  the 
Treasury,  but  he  pursued  no  penny-wise  policy.  The  needs  of 
the  country  and  the  requirements  of  an  efficient  administration 
were  fully  appreciated,  and  the  irresponsible  efforts  of  the 
Democrats  to  cripple  the  Government  by  a  reckless  cutting 
clown  of  its  supplies  were  successfully  resisted.  The  total 
expenses  of  the  Government  were  steadily  reduced  under  his 
management  but  no  branch  of  the  public  service  had  its 
efficiency  impaired  by  such  reduction. 

The  four  years  of  his  chairmanship  of  appropriations  were 
years  of  close  and  unremitting  labor.  He  worked  habitually 
fifteen  hours  a  day.  In  addition  to  the  demands  of  his  own 
department  of  legislation,  he  took  part  in  all  the  general  work 
of  the  House,  bore  a  leading  part  in  all  the  debates  involving 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  Party,  fought  without 
cessation  a  brave  battle  against  inflation  and  repudiation,  and 
omitted  no  opportunity  to  aid  in  educating  the  public  mind  to 
a  comprehension  of  the  importance  of  returning  to  specie  pay- 
ments. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.          .     .JW7 
CHAPTER  XIII. 

A   CAMPAIGN    OP    SLANDER. 

FIVE  times  had  General  Garfield  been  chosen  to  represent  the 
oid  Giddings  district  without  serious'  opposition  in  his  own 
party,  and  without  a  breath  of  suspicion  being  cast  upon  his 
personal  integrity.  With  one  exception,  all  his  nominations 
had  been  made  by  acclamation.  In  his  sixth  canvass,  however, 
a  storm  of  calumny  broke  upon  him.  A  concerted  attack  was 
made  upon  him  for  the  purpose,  if  possible,  of  defeating  him 
in  the  Convention,  and  failing  in  that,  to  beat  him  at  the  polls.' 
lit  was  charged  with  bribery  and  corruption  in  connection  with 
the  Credit  Mobilicr  affair  and  the  De  Qolyer  pavement  contract, 
and  with  responsibility  for  the  Salary  Grab.  A  fcv,  Liberal  Re- 
publicans of  1872  led  the  attack  and  the  Democrats  supported 
them.  The  district  was  soon  broadcast  v.'ilh  printed  sheets 
traducing  him.  An  extra  sheet  of  the  New  York  Sun,  devoted 
to  assailing  and  misrepresenting  his  record,  was  printed  and 
sent  in  enormous  numbers  to  the  district.  So  many  copies  were 
received  in  the  town  of  Painesville  alone  that  a  dray  was  loaded 
with  them.  Wherever  Garfield  went  on  his  canvass  of  his  dis- 
trict, he  found  the  sheets  in  everybody's  hand.  lie  met  the 
charges  in  a  bold,  straightforward  way,  published  a  pamphlet, 
reviewing  the  testimony  against  him,  showed  that  the  only  evi- 
dence connecting  him  with  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  was  the 
Unsupported  and  self-contradicted  testimony  of  Oakes  Ames, 
who  had  himself  sworn  at  the  beginning  of  the  investigation 
that  Garfield  had  none  of  the  stock  ;  that  in  the  pavement  busi 
ness  he  had  earned  and  received  a  fee,  as  any  other  lawyer 
might  have  done,  in  a  matter  which  was  not  before  Congress 
nor  likely  to  come  then-  ;  and  that  he  opposed  the  Salary  Grab 
persistently,  and  only  voted  at  the  last  for  the  appropriation 


OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

bill  containing  it  when  the  alternative  was  its  passage  or  an 
extra  session,  with  all  its  expense  and  its  disturbance  to 
business  ;  and  that  he  had  refused  to  receive  the  extra  pay,  and 
had  so  fixed  it  in  the  Treasury  that  neither  himself  nor  his  heirs 
could  ever  draw  it. 

In  the  Convention,  General  Garfield  was  nominated  by  a  ma- 
jority of  three  to  one,  and  the  opposition  to  him  did  not  bring 
forward  a  candidate,  but  merely  cast  blank  votes.  His  enemies 
then  took  their  charges  before  the  people.  They  nominated  a 
second  Republican  candidate — a  Methodist  presiding  elder, 
well-known  and  highly  esteemed  throughout  the  district, 
hoping  to  defeat  the  regular  nominee.  General  Garfield  met 
the  charges  against  him  before  the  jury  of  his  constituents,  He 
visited  all  parts  of  the  district,  speaking  day  and  night  at 
township  meetings.  The  verdict  of  the  election  was  a  complete 
vindication  of  his  character  and  actions.  It  was  the  year  of  the 
great  Republican  back-set.  The  Republicans  lost  every  Northern 
State,  from  Massachusetts  to  Illinois.  Governor  Noyes,their 
soldier-candidate  for  re-election  in  Ohio,  was  beaten.  Congres- 
sional districts  that  had  gone  Republican  ever  since  the  parly 
was  formed  deserted  to  the  Democracy.  The  adjoining 
distiict  to  Garfield's,  which  had  given  unbroken  Republican 
majorities  of  from  4000  to  7000,  elected  a  Democrat.  All  the 
general  influences  which  produced  this  reaction  were,  of  course, 
at  work  in  Garfield's  district,  in  addition  to  the  personal  chaises 
against  him  and  the  special  efforts  made  to  defeat  him.  He 
held  his  district,  however.  It  is  important  to  notice  the  figures 
of  the  vote,  for  it  has  been  claimed  that  the  district  rebuked 
him  by  cutting  down  his  majority  heavily.  The  fact  is,  his 
majority  was  greater  than  that  of  the  State  ticket,  greater  than 
Governor  Noyes's.  The  total  Republican  vote  fell  off,  but  not 
so  much  as  in  many  other  districts.  Nothing  was  accomplished 
by  the  campaign  of  mud-slinging.  The  honest,  intelligent  farm- 
ers of  the  Nineteenth  Distiict  heard  the  evidence  on  both 


LIFJS  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  229 

sides  and  refused  to  believe  that  they  had  been  represented  for 
twelve  years  by  a  rascal.  They  declined  to  withdraw  their 
confidence  from  General  Garfield.  The  vote,  as  contrasted  with 
that  of  1872,  was  as  follows  : 

In  1872,  Garfield 's  vote  for  Congress  was  19,189  ;  opposition 
vote,  8254,  Garfield 's  majority,  10,935.  State  ticket :  Republican 
candidate  for  Secretary  of  State,  19,202  :  Democratic  candidate, 
8313.  Republican  majority,  10,889.  In  1874,  Garfield 's  vote 
for  Congress  was  12,591  ;  opposition  vote,  6245,  Garfield's  ma- 
jority, 6346  ;  Noyes's  (Rep.)  vote  for  Governor,  12,543  ;  Allen's 
(Dem.)  vote  for  Governor,  6021  ;  Noyes's  majority  6524  ;  Gar- 
field's  vote  more  than  Noyes's,  47.  Garfield 's  falling  off  from 
1872,  6598  ;  Noyes's  falling  off  from  vote  for  State  ticket  in 
1872,  6659.  Garfi eld's  decrease  less  than  Noyes's,  61. 

These  figures  are  a  perfect  refutation  of  the  charge  that  General 
Garfield's  district,  gave  any  credence  to  the  slanders  so  widely 
circulated  against  him.  His  constituents  fully  vindicated  him, 
and  in  1876  and  1878  nominated  him  by  acclamation  and  elected 
him  by  increased  majorities. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LEADING    THE    MINOKITT. 

THE  result  of  the  elections  of  1874  was  to  give  the  Democrats 
fetrol  of  the  House  which  met  in  December,  1875.  Hitherto  the 
legislative  work  of  General  Garfield  had  been  constructive.  The 
impress  of  his  thought,  study,  and  genius  had  been  given  to  all 
the  measures  for  closing  the  war,  restoring  popular  government 
in  the  South,  conferring  suffrage  and  citizenship  on  The  emanci- 
pated slaves,  reorganizing  the  army,  funding  the  national 
debt,  and  placing  the  currency  on  a  sound  basis.  Now  he  was 


L1FJ-:  OF  JAMES  A.  VARF1ELD. 

caller!  upon  to  defend  this  work  against  ihe  assaults  of  the  party 
which  step  by  step  had  opposed  its  accomplishment,  and  which 
l>y  the  aid  of  the  solid  support  of  the  late  rebel  element  had 
gained  power  in  Congress.  One  of  the  first  movements  of  the 
Democrats  was  for  universal  amnesty.  Mr.  Elaine  offered  an 
amendment  to  their  bill  excluding  Jefferson  Davis.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  famous  debate  about  the  treatment  of  prisoners  of 
war,  opened  by  Elaine's  dashing  attack  on  Hill,  continued  by 
Hill's  reply  defending  the  South,  and  charging  that  Confeder- 
ates had  been  starved  in  Northern  prisons,  and  closing  with 
Garficld's  response  to  Hill.  Gai  field,  by  a  brilliant  stroke  of 
parliamentary  strategy,  forced  a  Democrat  to  testify  to  the  fa! 
sity  of  Hill's  charge.  He  said  that  the  Elmira,  New  York,  dis- 
trict, where  was  located,  during  the  war  the  principal  prison  for 
captured  rebels,  was  represented  in  the  House  by  a  Democrat, 
lie  did  not  know  him,  but  he  was  willing  to  rest  his  case  wholly 
on  his  testimony.  '  lie  called  upon  the  member  from  Elmira  to 
inform  the  House  whether  the  good  people  of  his  city  had  per- 
mitted the  captured  Confederate  soldiers  in  their  midst  to  suffer 
for  want  of  food.  The  gentleman  thus  appealed  to  rose 
promptly  and  said  that  to  his  knowledge  the  prisoners  had  re- 
ceived exactly  the  same  rations  as  the  Union  soldiers  guarding 
them.  While  this  statement  was  being  made,  a  telegraphic  dis- 
patch was  handed  to  General  Garfield.  Holding  it  up  he  said,  . 
•'  The  lightnings  of  heaven  are  aiding  me  in  this  controversy." 
The  dispatch  was  from  General  Elwell-,  of  Cleveland,  Avho  had 
i)!  <  11  the  quartermaster  at  the  Elmira  prison,  and  who  tele-  . 
graphed  that  the  rations  issued  to  the  rebel  prisoners  were  in. 
ijuantity  and  quality  exactly  the  same  as  those  issued  to  their 
•.••Hards.  Garfield's  spcei  h  killed  the  Democrats'  bill.  They 
withdrew  it  rather  than  risk  a  vote. 

Mr.  Elaine's  transfer  to  the  Senate  soon  after  this  debate  left 
<!arlield  the  recogni/.ed  leader  of  the  Republicans  in  the  House- 
Mr.-Kerr,  the  Democratic  Speaker,  died  in  the  midst  of  his  term,  I 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  231 

ami  in  tlic  election  for  his  successor  General  Gai  field  received 
the.  unanimous  Republican  vote.  A II  his  party  associates  tUrned 
to  him  with  one  accord  ;is  tlie  man  bust  fitted  by  experience, 
tiilent,  and  judgment  to  lead  them.  Soon  after,  in  August, 
1S7G,  came  the  dispute  with  Lamar,  in  which  Garfield's  ability 
as  an  orator  and  a  party  chief  shone  with  new  brilliancy.  La- 
mar  was  the  greatest  orator  the  Democrats  had,  and  was  selected 
by  them  to  make  a  key-note  campaign  speech.  In  order  to  pre- 
vent, if  possible,  an  effective  rcply^his  effort  was  postponed  to 
the  end  of  the  session.  Four  days  before  the  adjournment  La- 
mar  got  the  floor  and  delivered  the  speech  so  long  prepared. 
It  was  a  sharp  attack  upon  the  Republican  party,  an  appeal  for 
sympathy  for  the  "  oppressed  South,"  and  an  argument  to  show 
that  peace  and  prosperity  could  come  only  through  Democratic 
rule.  General  Garficld  took  notes  of  the  speech.  All  his  col- 
leagues insisted  that  he  alone  was  competent  to  break  the  force 
of  Lamar1  s  masterly  effort.  This  speech  is  usually  accounted 
the  greatest  of  his  life.  It  created  a  furor  in  the  House.  All 
business  was  suspended  for  ten  minutes  after  he  finished,  so 
great  was  the  excitement.  One  hundred  thousand  copies  of  the 
speech  were  subscribed  for  at  once  by  members  who  wanted  to 
circulate  it  in  their  districts,  and  during  the  campaign  over  a 
million  copies  were  distributed.  It  contributed  powerfully  to 
the  success  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  Presidential  cam- 
paign of  that  year. 

After  the  election  arose  the  dispute  about  the  count  of  the 
votes  of  South  Carolina,  Florida,  and  Louisiana.  President 
Grant  telegraphed  to  General  Garlield  under  date  of  November 
10th,  as  follows  :  "I  would  be  gratified  if  you  would  goto 
Xe\v  Orleans  and  remain  until  the  vote  of  Louisiana  is  counted. 
Governor  Kellogg  requests  that  reliable  witnesses  be  sent  to 
see  that  the  canvass  of  the  vote  is  a  fair  one.  U.  S.  GRANT." 

Garfield  went  to  Washington,  consulted  with  the  President, 
and  then  proceeded  to  New  Orleans  in  company  with  John  Slier- 


232  LIVE   Or    JAMh'S   .!.    HARFIELD. 

man,  Stanley  Matthew^,,  and  a  number  of  other  prominent  Re- 
publicans. The  Democratic  National  Committee  had  already 
dispatched  a  committee  then-  to  look  after  the  interests  of  their 
party.  Neither  in  the  newspapers  at  the  time,  nor  in  the  subse- 
quent report  of  the  Potter  Committee,  was  there  any  charge  of 
unfairness  brought  against  General  Garticld  on  account  of  his 
actions  in  Louisiana.  The  special  work  was  assigned  him  of 
taking  up  the  official  testimony  in  relation  to  the  Parish  of 
West  Feliciana  and  reporting  upon  it.  So  conscientious  was  he 
in  the  matter  that  he  was  not  content  with  the  written  testi- 
mony, but  sent  for  the  witnesses  themselves  and  examined  them 
personally,  in  order  to  satisfy  himself  of  their  credibility.  He- 
wrote  a  full  account  of  the  conduct  of  the  campaign  and  dec 
tion  in  West  Felieiana  which  was  embodied  in  Sherman's  letter 
to  President  Grant.  While  on  his  way  to  Washington,  return- 
ing from  New  Orleans,  he  was  again  chosen  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Republicans  of  the  House  as  their  candidate  for 
Speaker, 

General  Garfield  opposed  the  Electoral  Commission  bill.  In 
common  with  many  of  the  best  constitutional  lawyers  in  the 
country,  he  held  that  the  terms  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
practice  of  the  first  forty  years  after  its  adoption  made  it  the 
duty  of  the  Vice-President  to  count  the  Electoral  votes,  Con- 
gress being  present  as  official  witnesses,  and  not  as  participants 
in  the  transaction.  He  did  not  object  to  a  commission  as  a 
mere  committee  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  facts,  but  he 
maintained  that  it  could  have  no  judicial  authority.  In  support 
of  his  position  he  made  a  strong  legal  argument  to  the  House. 
In  spite  of  his  opposition  to  the  commission  scheme,  when 
the  bill  passed  he  was  selected  as  a  member  of  the  tribunal. 
The  Republicans  of  the  House  were  to  have  two  members. 
They  met  in  caucus,  and  were  about  to  ballot,  when  Mr.  Me 
Creary,  of  Iowa,  said  that  there  was  one  name  on  which  the} 
were  all  agreed,  and  which  need  not  be  submitted  to  the  for- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OARFIKLI). 

nullity  of  a  vote — that,  of  James  A.  Oarfield.  Garfleld  was 
'  hoseu  by  acclamation.  The  second  Commissioner  was  George 
V.  Floar,  of  Massachusetts,  who  afterward  presided  over  the 
Chicago  Convention,  which  nominated  General  Garfleld  for  the 
,  Presidency. 

As  a  member  of  the  Electoral  Commission,  General  Garfleld 
delivered  two  opinions,  in  which  he  brought  out  with  great 
clearness  the  point  that  the  Constitution  places  in  the  hands  of 
the  Legislatures  of  the  States  the  power  of  determining  how 
Iheir  Electors  shall  be  chosen,  and  that  Congress  had  no  right  to 
go  behind  the  final  decision  of  a  State.  If  there  was  nothing 
in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  a  State  touching  the  matter,  its 
legislature  could  appoint  Electors,  as  Vermont  had  done  after 
her  admission  to  the  Union.  This  position,  although  in  accord 
with  the  unbroken  practice  and  the  long  line  of  constitutional 
authorities  from  the  foundation  of  the  Government,  was  antago- 
nized by  the  Democrats,  who  tried  to  make  Congress  a  great 
returning  board,  to  canvass  the  returns  of  the  election  and  take 
testimony  as  to  the  fairness  of  the  action  of  local  boards  and 
State  authorities. 

Immediately  after  President  Hayes's  inauguration  the  Repub- 
licans in  the  Ohio  Legislature  desired  to  elect  General  Gartield 
in  the  United  States  Senate  in  place  of  John  Sherman,  who  had 
resigned  his  seat  to  enter  the  Cabinet.  Mr.  Hayes  made  a  per- 
mial  appeal  to  him  to  decline  to  be  a  candidate  and  remain  in 
the  House  to  lead  the  Republicans  in  support  of  the  Adminis- 
tration. General  Garfield  acceded,  in  the  belief  that  his  services 
would  be  of  more  value  to  the  party  in  the  House  than  in  the 
Senate,  and  withdrew  his  name  from  the  canvass,  greatly  to  the 
disappointment  of  his  friends  in  Ohio,  who  had  already  obtain- 
ed pledges  of  the  support  of  a  large  majority  of  the  Republican 
members  of  the  Legislature. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1877,  the  reaction  against 
Hayes,  on  account  of  his  Southern  policy,  wa-;  in  full  force,  and 


234  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GA11FIELD. 

there  was  imminent  danger  of  a  split  in  the  Republican  Party 
on  this  question  which  would  cripple  if  not  destroy  it.  General 
Garfield  threw  himself  into  the  breach  as  a  pacificator,  to  keep 
the  party  together.  He  saw  that  if  Republicans  quarrelled 
among  themselves  in  the  face  of  a  united  enemy,  they  could 
have  no  hope  of  future  success.  lie  prevented  by  his  influence 
the  holding  of  caucuses  which  would  develop  antagonisms  ami 
lead  to  bitter  debates,  and  by  his  "  Louisiana  Pacification 
Speech,'1  threw  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  With  rare  sagacity 
and  judgment,  he  succeeded  in  preventing  a  public  outbreak  of 
the  feeling  against  the  adminstration  until  the  Potter  Committee 
was  raised  by  the  Democrats  to  reopen  the  Electoral  dispute 
and  try  the  President's  title  That  committee  united  the  Re- 
publicans like  a  closed  fist.  They  rallied  as  one  man  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  President's  right  to  be  President.  Mr.  Haj'es's 
subsequent  conduct  in  upholding  the  election  laws  by  his  ve- 
toes and  in  courageously  asserting  Republican  doctrine  in  re- 
gard to  the  supremacy  of  the  national  authority,  cemented  the 
party  by  the  strong  tie  of  principle  and  all  old  controversies 
within  itself  were  soon  forgotten. 

In  the  session  of  1878,  Genera]  Garfield  led  the  long  struggle 
in  defence  of  the  resumption  act,  which  was  assailed  by  the 
Democrats  with  a  vigor  born  of  desperation.  His  speech  in 
support  of  the  law  was  accepted  by  Republicans  throughout  the 
country  as  the  financial  gospel  of  the  time.  Tic  also  made  a 
remarkable  speech  on  the  tariff  question,  in  opposition  to 
Wood's  bill,  which  sought  to  break  down  the  protective  system. 

During  the  extra  session  of  1879,  forced  by  the  Democrats, 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  issue  of  the  repeal  of  the  Fed- 
eral election  laws  prominently  before  the  country,  General  Gar- 
field  led  the  Republican  minority  wilh  consummate  tact  ami 
judgment.  The  plan  of  the  Democrats  '"was  to  open  the  debate 
with  a  general  attack  on  the  Republican  Party  in  order  to  throw 
their  adversaries  upon  the  defensive  as  apologists  for  the  course 


LIFE  OF  JAMKS   A.  OARFIELD  23n 

of  their  party.  McMahon,  of  Ohio,  was  selected  to  make  the 
opening  speech.  Garfield  did  not  wait,  for  him  to  make  his  ar- 
gument, but  securing  the  floor  ahead,  of  him,  delivered  his  fa- 
mous "  Revolution  in  Congress  "  speech,  in  which  ho  attack-'! 
the  Democrats  with  such  vigor  and  exposed  with  so  much 
force  their  scheme  for  Avithholding  appropriations  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Government,  to  compel  the  President  to  sign  their 
political  measures,  that  they  were  thrown  into  confusion,  and 
instead  of  taking  the  offensive,  were  obliged  to  resort  to  a  weak, 
defensive  campaign.  Driven  from  position  to  position  by  suc- 
cessive vetoes  and  by  the  persistent  assaults  of  the  Republican 
mi n ority,  they  ended  with  a  ridiculous  fiasco.  Instead  of  refusing 
:: .!">.(  100, 000  of  appropriations,  as  they  threatened  at  the  begin 
niiig,  they  ended  by  appropriating  $44,600,000  of  the  amount, 
leaving  only  $400,000  unprovided  for. 

Last  winter  the  Democrats  recommenced  the  fight,  but  in  a 
feeble,  disheartened  way.  They  set  out  to  refuse  all  pay  to  the 
United  States  Marshals  unless  the  President  would  let  them 
wipe  out  the  election  laws.  General  Gai field  mot  them  with 
a  powerful  speech  on  "  Nullification  in  Congress/'  in  which  he 
showed  that  while  it  was  clearly  the  foremost  duty  of  the  law- 
makers in  Congress  to  obey  the  laws,  the  Democrats  had  be- 
come leaders  in  an  attempt  to  disobey  them  and  break  them 
down. 

General  Garfield 's  last  work  in  Congress  was  a  report  on  the 
Tucker  Tariff  Bill.  An  attempt  was  made  by  an  adver- 
tising agency  in  New  York  last  spring  to  prejudice  the  presr 
of  the  country  against  him  by  making  him  appear  as  the 
friend  of  the  paper- makers'  monopoly,  because  he  oppose* 
the  repeal  of  the  tariff  on  paper  pulp.  The  paper-maker^ 
wanted  the  duty  abolished  and  managed  to  make  the  news- 
papers believe  that  it  alone  was  the  cause  of  the  high  price  of 
paper.  General  Garfield  investigated  the  matter  with  his  ac- 
customed thoroughness,  and  found  that  when  it  cost  seven  cents 


236  LIFE  OF  JAMEti  A.   UARFIKLJ). 

to  make  a  pound  of  paper,  the  value  of  the  pulp  was  only  one 
cent,  and  as  the  duly  was  twenty  per  cent.,  the  difference  it 
made  in  the  cost  of  a  pound  of  paper,  was  only  four-tenths  of  a 
cent.  The  manufacturers  had  nearly  doubled  the  price  of 
paper  and  were  pretending  that  this  trifling  duty  was  the  cause 
of  their  exorbitant  demands.  General  Garfield  favored  the 
reduction  of  the  pulp  tariff  to  ten  per  cent,  but  was  not  willing 
to  break  down  an  important  industry  and  depart  from  the  pro 
tective  system  in  the  case  of  a  single  article  by  repealing  it  alto 
gether. 

Tn  January,  1880,  General  Garfield  was  chosen  to  the  Senate  by 
the  Legislature  of  Ohio  for  the  term  of  six  years  beginning 
March  4th,  1881.  He  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
Republican  caucus,  an  honor  never  before  conferred  upon  a 
citizen  of  Ohio  by  any  party.  The  Republicans  of  his  State 
with  one  accord  demanded  his  promotion  to  the  upper  house, 
of  Congress,  as  a  fitting  reward  for  his  long  and  faithful  service 
in  the  lower  branch,  but  the  Republicans  of  the  nation  soon 
after  selected  him  for  a  still  greater  promotion,  and  made  him 
their  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

NOMINATED    FOR   PRESIDENT. 

GENERAT,  GAKFIKLD  went  to  the  Republican  National  Con- 
vention at  Chicago  as  a  delegate  at  large  from  the  State  of 
Ohio.  His  great  experience  and  prominence  in  national  polities 
made  him  very  naturally  the  leader  of  the  delegation.  Ohio 
had  agreed  to  present  the  name  of  General  Sherman  to  the 
convention  as  its  candidate  for  President.  General  Garfield 
entered  heartily  into  the  Sherman  movement,  and  labored 
earnestly  for  the  success  of  the  candidate  of  his  State;  Plis 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  QARFIELD.  23? 

speech,  presenting  Sherman's  name  was  universally  applauded 
as  a  model  of  dignified  oratory,  and  as  a  timely  effort  to  pre- 
vent the  sharp  differences  of  feeling  in  the  convention  from 
weakening  the  party  in  the  approaching  campaign.  His  wise 
utterances  in  favor  of  harmony  were  in  such  decided  contrast 
to  the  heated  declamation  indulged  in  by  many  partisans  of 
other  candidates  that  the  convention  instinctively  turned  to 
him  as  the  peacemaker  who  could  bring  harmony  out  of  the 
troubled  sea  of  contention.  His  short  speeches  on  questions 
arising  before  the  convention  during  its  long  and  turbulent 
session  were  all  couched  in  the  same  vein  of  wise  moderation, 
while  adhering  firmly  to  the  principle  of  district  representation 
and  the  right  of  every  individual  delegate  to  cast  his  own  vote. 
When  the  balloting  began,  a  single  delegate  from  Pennsyl- 
vania voted  for  Garfield.  No  attention  was  paid  to  this  vote, 
which  was  thought  to  be  a  mere  eccentricity  on  the  part  of  the 
man  who  cast  it.  Later  on  a  second  Pennsylvania  delegate 
joined  the  solitary  Garfield  man.  So  the  balloting  continued, 
the  fight  being  a  triangular  one,  between  Grant,  Elaine  and 
Sherman,  with  Washburne,  Edmunds,  and  Windom  in  the  field, 
ready  for  possible  compromises.  General  Garfield'' s  plan,  as  the 
leader  of  the  Sherman  forces,  was  to  keep  his  candidate  steadily 
in  the  field,  in  the  belief  that  in  the  end  the  Elaine  men,  seeing 
the  impossiblity  of  the  success  of  their  favorite,  would  come  to 
Sherman  and  thus  secure  his  nomination.  After  a  whole  day's 
voting,  however,  it  became  plain  that  a  union  of  the  Elaine 
and  Sherman  forces  in  favor  of  Sherman  could  not  be  effected, 
and  that  an  attempt  in  that  direction  would  throw  enough 
additional  votes  to  Grant  to  give  him  the  victory.  Some  un- 
successful efforts  were  made  on  the  second  day's  voting  to  rally 
on  Edmunds  and  Washburne.  Finally,  on  the  34th  ballot,  tiic 
Wisconsin  men  determined  to  make  an  effort  in  an  entirely 
new  direction  to  break  the  dead-lock.  They  threw  their  17 
votes  for  Garfield.  General  Garfield  sprang  to  his  feet  and 


238  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

protester!  against  this  proceeding,  making  the  point  of  order 
that  nobody  had  a  right  to  vote  for  any  member  of  the  con- 
vention without  his  consent,  and  that  consent,  he  said,  "  I 
refuse  to  give."  The  chairman  declared  that  the  point  of  order 
was  not  well  taken,  and  ordered  the  Wisconsin  vote  to  be 
counted.  On  the  next  ballot  nearly  the  whole  Indiana  dele- 
gation swung  over  to  Garfleld,  and  a  few  scattering  votes  were 
changed  to  him  from  other  States,  making  a  total  of  fifty  votes 
cast  for  him  in  all.  Now  it  became  plain  that,  by  a  happy 
inspiration,  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  had  been  found.  On 
the  36th  ballot,  State  after  State  swung  over  to  Garfield  amid 
intense  excitement,  and  he  was  nominated  by  the  following 
vote  :  Garfield,  399  ;  Grant,  306  ;  Sherman,  3  ;  Washburne, 
5.  The  nomination  was  accepted  on  all  hands  as  an  exceed- 
ingly fortunate  one,  and  both  the  friends  and  opponents  of 
General  Garfield  vied  with  each  other  in  the  enthusiasm  with 
which  they  endorsed  it.  Congratulations  poured  in  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  on  his  way  from  Chicago  to  his  farm 
in  Ohio,  General  Garfield  was  the  recipient  of  a  popular  ova- 
tion, which  repeated  itself  at  every  town  and  railroad  station. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

GENERAL  OARFIELD  AS  AN  ORATOR. 

GENERAL  GARFIELD'S  reputation  as  a  stump-speaker  was,  as 
we  have  seen  in  a  preceding  chapter,  an  affair  of  steady 
growth,  beginning  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his  home  in 
Hi  rain,  spreading  in  a  few  years  to  the  neighboring  counties, 
( Mending  in  1860  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  afterward  widen- 
ing so  as  to  embrace  the  whole  country.  At  present  there  is 
probably  no  living  political  orator  whose  efforts  before  large 
audiences  are  so  effective.  He  appeals  directly  to  the  reason 


LIFE  OF  JAMKS  A.  GAKFIELD.  239 

of  men,  and  only  after  he  has  carried  his  hearers  along  on  a 
strong  tide  of  argument  to  irresistible  conclusions,  does  he 
address  himself  to  their  feelings.  The  emotions  he  arouses  are 
all  the  more  intense,  from  the  fact  that  he  has  first  convinced 
the  mind  that  they  are  just  and  timely.  He  has  a  powerful 
voice,  great  personal  magnetism,  and  a  style  of  address  that  wins 
confidence  at  the  outset,  and  he  is  a  master  of  the  art  of  bind 
in"1  together  facts  and  logic  into  a  solid  sheaf  of  argument. 

n          o  o  o 

At  times  he  seems  to  lift  his  audience  up  and  shake  it  with 
strong  emotion,  so  powerful  is  his  eloquence  ;  but  he  loves  best 
to  reason  with  his  hearers,  calmly  but  emphatically.  He  never 
reads  a  speech  from  manuscript  ;  he  never  writes  one  to  com- 
mit to  memory.  His  method  of  preparation  is  first  to  study  his 
subject  with  great  care,  and  then  make  a  few  head  notes.  With 
these  notes  to  refer  to,  he  speaks  extemporaneously,  and  so  well 
thought  out  is  his  matter  that  when  reported  verbatim  it  reads 
as  if  carefully  written  out  in  advance. 

During  the  war  General  Garfield  made  but  one  speech — a 
Fourth  of  July  oration  delivered  to  five  thousand  soldiers  from 
an  army  wagon  in  Alabama.  In  the  campaign  of  1864  he  made 
a  series  of  addresses  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  speaking 
sixty-five  times  and  travelling  7,500  miles.  The  same  year, 
before  Congress  adjourned,  he  went  over  to  the  eastern  shore 
of  Maryland,  on  the  invitation  of  Postmaster- General  Creswell, 
and  spoke  in  Chestertown.  This  was  the  only  time  he  ever 
met  with  a  demonstration  of  mob  spirit.  Some  rebel  sym- 
pathizers in  the  crowd  threw  rotten  eggs  at  him.  He  broke 
off  the  current  of  his  discourse  to  say  to  them  :  "I  have  just 
come  from  fighting  brave  rebels  at  Chickamauga  ;  I  shall  not 
flinch  before  cowardly  rebels  like  you."  Then  he  went  on  with 
his  speech  and  was  not  again  assailed.  Every  year  from  1864 
to  1879.  save  one  he  spoke  almost  every  day  while  the  campaign 
lasted,  either  in  his  own  or  other  States.  In  1865  he  took  the 
lead  of  his  party  in  advocating  manhood  suffrage  in  Ohio.  A 


240  LTFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OARFIEtD. 

sentence  from  an  address  on  this  subject,  delivered  at  Ravenna 
on  July  4th,  was  kept  standing  as  a  motto  in  many  of  the  Re- 
publican papers.  It  was,  "  Suffrage  and  safety,  like  liberty  and 
union,  are  one  and  indivisible." 

He  has  always  regarded  the  stump  as  a  great  educating  influ- 
ence, and  has  felt  a  conscientious  duty  to  offer  to  his  audience 
the  whole  truth  and  the  best  thoughts  he  could  command  on 
the  subject  in  hand.  He  is  scrupulously  careful  in  his  statement 
of  facts,  and  never  gives  as  a  fact  what  is  only  an  opinion,  or 
garbles  an  authority  to  gain  support  for  an  argument.  His  first 
speech  in  every  campaign  has  for  many  years  past  been  issued 
as  a  national  campaign  document. 

Five  years  ago  he  began  to  go  to  the  Maine  canvass,  and  hi 
kept  up  the  custom  regularly  ever  since.  He  has  made  three 
stumping  tours  of  Michigan,  one  of  New  Hampshire,  one  of 
New  Jersey,  one  of  New  York,  one  of  Kansas,  three  of  Indiana, 
two  of  Illinois,  and  he  has  also  spoken  in  Wisconsin,  Iowa. 
Pennsylvania,  and  other  States.  In  Ohio  there  is  scarcely  a 
county  where  his  voice  has  not  repeatedly  been  heard  before' 
large  assemblies.  In  1868  he  held  a  joint  debate  at  Newark,  O., 
with  General  George  W.  Morgan.  In  1878  he  carried  on  two 
joint  discussions  in  Ohio  with  the  present  Senator  Pendleton. 
In  the  first  of  these  encounters,  Pendleton  supposed  Garfield  was 
going  to  make  the  same  speech  he  had  been  making  elsewhere 
in  the  canvass,  and  to  this  he  thought  his  own  stock  speech 
for  the  campaign  a  sufficient  reply,  but  Garfield  surprised  him 
by  milking  an  entirely  fresh  extemporaneous  speech,  consist  in- 
of  a  tremendous  attack  on  the  Democratic  Party.  Pendleton  had 
nothing  prepared  to  meet  this,  and  was  forced  to  make  his  old 
speech,  which  was  an  arraignment  of  the  Republican  Party.  As 
Garfield  had  half  an  hour  to  close  the  debate,  he  was  able  to  re- 
fute all  of  Pendleton's  points,  leaving  his  own  to  stand  un- 
answered. His  remarkable  power  of  thinking  on  his  legs  was 
admirably  exemplified  on  this  occasion. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  241 

Outside  of  his  political  work,  General  Garfield  has  been  a  fre- 
quent platform  speaker  on  topics  connected  with  education, 
finance,  and  social  science.  In  1878  he  delivered  a  notable  ad- 
dress in  Fauueil  Hall,  Boston  on  "Honest  Money."  In  1S74 
he  delivered  six  lectures  on  social  science  at  Hiram  College.  In 
1869  he  spoke  on  the  value  of  statistics  before  the  American 
Social  Science  Association  in  New  York.  In  late  years  he  has 
been  an  occasional  contributor  to  the  pages  of  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  and  the  North  American  He-view. 

A  striking-  instance  of  General  Garfield' s  power  over  a  vast, 
excited  multitude  is  related  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Cincinnati 
Gazette : 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  saw  General  Garfield.  It 
was  the  morning  after  President  Lincoln's  assassination.  The 
country  was  excited  to  its  utmost  tension,  and  New  York  city 
seemed  ready  for  the  scenes  of  the  French  Revolution.  The 
intelligence  of  Lincoln's  murder  had  been  flashed  by  the  wires 
over  the  whole  land.  The  newspaper  head-lines  of  the  transac- 
tion were  set  up  in  the  largest  type,  and  the  high  crime  was  on 
every  one's  tongue.  Fear  took  possession  of  men's  minds  as  to 
the  fate  of  the  Government,  for  in  a  few  hours  the  news  came 
on  that  Seward's  throat  was  cut  and  that  attempts  had  been 
made  upon  the  lives  of  others  of  the  Government  officers. 
Posters  were  stuck  up  everywhere,  in  great  black  letters,  calling 
upon  the  loyal  citizens  of  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Jersey  City  and 
neighboring  places,  to  meet  around  the  Wall  Street  Exchange 
and  give  expression  to  their  sentiments.  It  was  a  dark  and 
terrible  hour.  What  might  come  next  no  one  could  tell,  and 
men  spoke  with  bated  breath .  The  wrath  of  the  workingmen 
was  simply  uncontrollable,  and  revolvers  and  knives  were  in  the 
hands  of  thousands  of  Lincoln's  friends,  ready  at  the  first 
opportunity  to  take  the  law  into  their  osvn  hands  and  avenge 
the  death  of  the  martyred  President  upon  any  and  all  wiio 
dared  to  utter  a  word  ayainst  him. 


-42  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

"Eleven  o'clock  A.M.  was  the  hour  set  for  the  rendezvous. 
Fifty  thousand  people  crowded  around  the  Exchange  Building, 
(•ramming  and  jamming  the  streets,  and  wedged  in  tight  as  men 
could  stand  together.  With  a  few  to  whom  a  special  favor  was 
extended,  I  went  over  from  Brooklyn,  at  9  A.M.,  and,  even  then, 
with  the  utmost  difficult}',  found  way  to  the  reception  room  for 
(lie  speakers  in  the  front  of  the  Exchange  Building,  and  looking 
out  upon  the  high  and  massive  balcony,  whose  front  was  pro- 
tected by  a  heavy  iron  railing.  We  sat  in  solemnity  and  silence, 
waiting  for  General  Butler,  who,  it  was  announced,  had  started 
from  Washington  and  was  either  already  in  the  city  or  expect- 
.  d  every  moment.  Nearly  a  hundred  generals,  judges,  states- 
men, lawyers,  editors,  clergymen,  and  others,  were  in  that  room 
.\  ailing  Butler's  arrival.  We  stepped  out  to  the  balcony  to 
\vatch  the  fearfully  solemn  and  swaying  mass  of  people.  Not 
a  hurrah  was  heard,  but  for  the  most  part  dead  silence,  or  a 
deep,  ominous  muttering  ran  like  a  rising  wave  up  the  street 
toward  Broadway,  and  again  down  toward  the  river  on  the 
right. 

"  At  length  the  batons  of  the  police  were  seen  swinging  in 
the  air,  far  up  on  the  left,  parting  the  crowd  and  pressing  it 
back  to  make  way  for  a  carriage  that  moved  slowly  and  with 
difficult  jogs,  through  the  compact  multitude.  Suddenly  Hie 
ilence  was  broken,  and  the  cry  of  '  Butler  !  Butler  !  Butler  !' 
rang  out  with  tremendous  and  thrilling  effect,  and  was  taken 
;i|>  by  the  people.  But  not  a  hurrah  !  Not  one  !  It  was  the 
i  i  v  of  a  great  people,  asking  to  know  how  their  President  died. 
The  blood  bounded  in  our  veins,  and  the  tears  ran  like  streams 
down  our  faces.  How  it  was  done  I  forget,  but  Butler  was 
pulled  through,  and  pulled  up,  and  entered  the  room,  where  we 
had  just  walked  back  to  meet  him.  A  broad  crape,  a  yard 
long,  hung  from  his  left  arm — terrible  contrast  with  the  count- 
less flags  that  were  waving  the  nation's  victory  in  the  breeze. 
We  first  realized  then  the  truth  of  the  sad  news  that  Lincoln 


LIFE  OF  JAMK8  A.   OARFIELD.  243 

was  dead.  When  Butler  entered  the  room  we  shook  hands. 
Some  spoke,  some  couldn't.  All  were  in  tears.  The  only  word 
Butler  hud  for  us  all  at  the  first  break  of  the  silence  was  : 
'  Gentlemen,  he  died  in  the  fulness  of  his  fame  !  '  and  as  he 
spoke  it  his  lips  quivered,  and  the  tears  ran  fast  down  his 
cheeks. 

"  Then,  after  a  few  moments,  came  the  speaking.  And  you 
can  imagine  the  effect,  as  the  crape  fluttered  in  the  wind,  while 
his  arm  was  uplifted.  Dickinson,  of  New  York  State,  was  fairly 
wild.  The  old  man  leaped  over  the  iron  railing  of  tli^  balcony 
and  stood  on  the  very  edge  overhanging  the  crowd,  gesticulat- 
ing in  the  most  vehement  manner,  and  next  thing  to  bidding 
the  crowd  '  burn  up  the  rebel  seed,  root  and  branch,'  while  a 
bystander  held  on  to  his  coat-tails  to  keep  him  from  falling 
over.  By  this  time  the  wave  of  popular  indignation  had  swelled 
to  its  crest.  Two  men  lay  bleeding  on  one  of  the  side  streets, 
the  one  dead,  the  other  next  to  dying  ;  one  on  the  pavement, 
the  other  in  the  gutter.  They  had  said  a  moment  before  that 
*  Lincoln  ought  to  have  been  shot  long  ago  ! '  They  were  not 
allowed  to  say  it  again!  Soon  two  long  pieces  of  scantling 
stood  out  above  the  heads  of  the  crowd,  crossed  at  the  top  like 
the  letter  X,  and  a  looped  halter  pendent  from  the  junction,  a 
dozen  men  following  its  slow  motion  through  the  masses,  while 
'  Vengeance  !'  was  the  cry. 

"  On  the  right,  suddenly,  the  shout  rose,  '  The  World  f 
4  The  World T  'The  office  of  The  World."  '  World!  World!" 
and  a  movement  of  perhaps  8,000  or  10,000  turning  their  faces 
in  the  direction  of  that  building  began  to  be  executed.  It  was 
a  critical  moment.  What  might  come  no  one  could  tell,  did 
that  crowd  get  in  front  of  that  office.  Police  and  military 
would  have  availed  little  or  been  too  late.  A  telegram  had 
just  been  read  from  Washington,  '  Seward  is  dying. '  Just  then 
••it  that  juncture  a  man  stepped  forward  with  a  small  flag  in  his 
hand,  and  beckoned  to  the  crowd.  'Another  telegram  from 


^44  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   OAR  FIELD. 

Washington  !  '  And  then,  in  the  awful  silence  of  the  crisis, 
taking  advantage  of  the  hesitation  of  the  crowd,  whose  steps 
had  been  arrested  a  moment,  a  right  arm  was  lifted  skyward, 
and  a  voice  clear  and  steady,  loud  and  distinct,  spoke  out  : 
•  Fellow-citizens  !  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  Him  ! 
His  pavilion  is  dark  waters  and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies  ! 
Justice  and  judgment  are  the  establishment  of  His  throne  ! 
Mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before  His  face  !  Fellow-citizens  ! 
<Iod  reigns  and  the  Government  at  Washington  still  lives  !' 

' '  The  etfect  was  tremendous.  The  crowd  stood  riveted  to 
the  ground  in  awe,  gazing  at  the  motionless  orator,  and  think- 
ing of  God  and  the  security  of  the  Government  in  that  hour. 
As  the  boiling  wave  subsides  and  settles  to  the  sea  when  some 
strong  wind  beats  it  down,  so  the  tumult  of  the  people  sank 
and  became  still.  All  took  it  as  a  divine  omen.  It  was  a  tri- 
umph of  eloquence,  inspired  by  the  moment,  such  as  falls  to 
but  one  man's  lot,  and  that  but  once  in  a  century.  The  genius 
of  \Vebtser,  Choate,  Everett,  Scward,  never  reached  it. 
Demosthenes  never  equalled  it.  What  might  have  happened 
had  the  surging  and  maddened  mob  been  let  loose,  none  can 
tell.  The  man  for  the  crisis  was  on  the  spot,  more  potent  than 
Napoleon's  guns  at  Paris.  I  inquired  what  was  his  name.  The 
answer  came  in  a  low  whisper,  '  It  is  General  Garfield,  of 
Ohio  !'  " 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

GENERAL   GARFIELD    AS    A   LAWYER. 

GARFIELD  formed  the  intention  of  studying  law  while  in  col-, 
lege,  but  his  poverty  and  his  debt  for  his  college  expenses  made 
it  necessary  for  him  to  earn  money  at  once,  and  for  many  years, 
while  teaching  in  the  Hiram  Institute  he  saw  no  way  of  carry- 
ing out  his  plan.     He  managed  to  read  law  books,   however,  ; 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   G AR FIELD.  245 

and  his  election  to  the  State  Senate  giving  him  more  time  for 
study,  he  entered  his  name  in  a  Cleveland  law  olhYe,  and  began 
a  systematic  course  while  serving  in  the  Legislature.  In  1861, 
as  stated  in  a  foregoing  chapter,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  His  army  service  and  his  sub- 
sequent busy  career  in  Congress  prevented  him  from  practising 
for  a  long  time,  but  he  always  entertained  the  idea  of  settling 
in  Cleveland  when  his  public  career  should  close,  *and  devoting 
'himself  to  the  legal  profession.  His  constituents  refused  to  re- 
tire him  from  public  life,  however,  and  kept  on  returning  him 
to  Congress  term  after  term,  by  unanimous  nominations  and 
large  majorities  at  the  polls.  Being  always  a  working  member, 
giving  up  his  time  during  the  sessions  to  the  business  of  legis- 
lation, and  spending  most  of  the  vacations  of  Congress  helping 
his  party  by  his  efforts  upon  the  stump,  he  has  found  little 
opportunity  for  making  briefs  and  pleas.  Some  business  that 
was  pressed  upon  him  and  that  he  could  attend  to  without  in- 
terfering with  his  public  duties,  he  has  accepted.  His  first  case 
was  that  of  the  Indiana  conspirators,  Bowles  and  Mulligan,  who 
were  tried  and  convicted  by  a  military  commission  in  1864  for 
treason.  The  case  was  brought  before  the  Supreme  Court  on  a 
question  involving  the  right  of  a  military  tribunal  to  try  civil- 
ians in  a  State  not  the  theatre  of  actual  war.  General  Garlield 
undertook  the  defense  of  the  men,  not  from  any  desire  to  shield 
them  from  punishment,  but  because  he  believed  the  civil  law 
should  be  supreme  where  not  necessarily  suspended  by  the  op- 
erations of  hostile  armies.  He  made  an  argument  of  great  abilty 
and  won  the  case.  For  his  action  in  defending  the  conspirators, 
he  was  severely  criticised  by  many  of  his  Republican  friends  at 
home.  In  reference  to  these  criticisms  he  said  in  a  speech  at 
Warren,  Ohio,  that  he  argued  the  case  "  in  defense  of  what  I 
believe  to  be  a  most  vital  and  important  principle,  not  only  to 
the  Republican  Party,  but  to  the  nation— namely  :  that  in  no 
part  of  our  civil  community  must  the  military  be  exalted  above 


246  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD. 

the  civil  authority.  ...  I  believe  that  all  over  this  lanrl 
one  of  the  great  landmarks  of  civilization  anil  civil  liberty  is 
the  self-restraining  liberty  of  the  American  people,  curbing 
themselves  and  governing  themselves  by  the  limitation  of  the 
civil  law.1' 

In  the  spring  of  18G8  he  was  engaged  to  defend  the  will  of 
Alexander  Campbell,  the  founder  of  the  sect  of  Disciples  and  of 
their  college  at  Bethany,  West  Virginia.  This  case  he  also  won. 
P-iiice  Ihen  he  has  been  engaged  in  fifteen  cases  belore  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  most  of  them  of  considerable  im- 
portance, one  case  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  one  in 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court  at  Mobile,  Ala.,  and  one  in  the 
Equity  Court  of  Lawrence  County,  Pa.  In  these  cases  he  h;i 
been  associated  with  several  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  coun  - 
iry.  His  powers  of  analysis,  his  habit  of  going  to  the  bottom 
of  a  subject  at  no  matter  what  cost  of  hard  study,  and  his 
ability  to  carry  on  a  closely-interwoven  logical  argument,  make 
him  a  formidable  advocate.  If  he  had  devoted  his  life  to  the 
law,  there  is  113  doubt  that  he  would  rank  with  the  five  or  six 
lawyers  who  by  the  general  verdict  of  their  confreres  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  profession  in  this  country.  He  has  an  immense 
capacity  for  work,  and  his  remarkable  intellect,  always  kept  in 
harness  by  his  will,  together  with  his  oratorical  powers,  peculiar- 
ly fit  him  for  the  higher  walks  of  the  legal  calling. 


CHAPTER   XVIH. 

HOME    AND    FAMILY   LIFE. 


THE  first  years  of  General  Garfield's  married  life  were  passed 
in  Hiram,  boarding  with  families  of  friends,  and  it  was  not  until 
he  went  to  the  war  that  he  saved  money  enough  to  buy  a  home. 
In  1862  he  purchased  a  small  frame  cottage  facing  the  college 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  24? 

green,  paying  for  it  $800.  About  $1000  more  were  spent  in  en- 
larging it  by  a*  wing  and  fitting  it  up.  It  had  a  small  front 
yard  ornamented  with  a  few  shade  trees  and  evergreen  shrubs, 
and  at  the  back  of  the  lot  was  a  barn  and  kitchen  garden.  The 
rooms  were  small  and  the  ceilings  low,  as  was  the  fashion  in 
village  houses  of  moderate  pretensions,  but  the  young  house- 
wife soon  made  the  place  cosey  and  homelike.  This  was  the 
only  home  of  the  family  for  many  years.  While  in  Washington 
they  livnl  in  apartments.  The  lack  of  a  settled  home  at  the 
capital,  where  the  children  conld  grow  up  amid  wholesome  in- 
fluences, was  seriously  felt  early  in  General  Garfield's  Congres- 
sional career,  but  it  was  not  until  he  had  been  three  times  elect- 
ed that  he  began  to  regard  that  career  as  likely  to  continue  for 
;tu  indefinite  period,  and  sought  the  means  of  escaping  from 
the  disagreeable  features  of  hotel  and  board  ing- house  life.  He 
bought  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  Thirteenth  and  I  Streets,  facing 
Franklin  Square,  and  with  money  loaned  him  by  an  old  army 
friend  put  up  a  plain,  square,  substantial  brick  house,  big 
enough  to  hold  his  family  and  two  or  three  guests.  Some 
years  later  the  wing  of  the  house  was  extended  to.  enlarge  the 
dining-room  and  library,  the  requirements  of  the  household 
liaving  outgrown  the  capacity  of  the  one  and  those  of  the 
(Mineral's  library  that  of  the  other.  The  cottage  in  Hiram  was 
sold  and  the  family  life  for  several  years  centred  in  the  Wash- 
ington house  ;  but  in  order  not  to  be  without  a  foothold  in  his 
own  district  General  Garfield  built  a  small  cottage  on  Little 
Mountain,  in  Lake  Count}7,  for  a  summer  sojourning  place. 

As  the  boys  grew  older,  however,  and  needed  more  range  for 
their  activities  than  a  city  house  could  afford,  the  desire  to  own 
a  farm  which  he  had  always  felt  increased  upon  him.  When 
he  had  paid  off  the  mortgage  on  his  house  and  had  a  little 
money  ahead,  he  thought  he  could  safely  gratify  his  desire,  and 
after  a  good  deal  of  thought  about  localities,  decided  to  settle  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railioad  on  one  of  the  hand- 


248  LJFE  OF  JAM  EH  A.   GARF1ELD. 

some  productive  ridges  that  run  parallel  to  Lake  Erie.  A  farm 
of  160  acres  was  bought  in  the  town  of  Men  Lor,*  Lake  County,  a 
mile  from  a  railway  and  telegraph  station  and  half  a  mile  from 
a  post-office.  The  buildings  consisted  of  a  tumble-down  barn 
and  an  ancient  farm-house  a  story  and  a  half  high  ;  but  the  land 
was  fertile,  the  summer  climate,  tempered  by  breezes  from  the 
neighboring  lake,  was  delightful,  and  the  people  in  the  vicinity 
were  of  the  best  class  of  farmers  to  be  found  in  Ohio.  The  old 
house  was  somewhat  modernized  with  paint  and  paper  and  a 
new  piax./.a,  a  barn  was  built,  and  the  family  migrated  to  the 
new  homo.  All  were  delighted  with  the  change.  The  chil- 
dren ran  wild  in  the  orchards  and  hay-fields,  the  mother  took 
pleasure  in  the  new  duties  of  a  farmer's  household,  the  good  old 
grandmother  rejoiced  to  get  back  to  rural  scenes  like  those 
amid  which  her  early  years  had  been  spent,  and  the  General  re- 
vived all  the  farming  skill  of  his  boyhood  days,  holding  the 
plow  or  loading  the  hay  wugon  or  driving  the  ox  team.  Drain- 
age, fencing,  and  other  improvements  absorbed  all  the  money 
the  place  brought  in,  but  the  time  spent  upon  it  was  highly  en- 
joyed by  all  the  members  of  the  household,  and  every  winter 
they  looked  forward  to  the  adjournment  of  Congress  and  their 
release  from  Washington  with  pleasant  anticipations. 

After  three  summers  in  the  cramped,  low-ceiled  little  house 
it  was  resolved  that  it  must  be  enlarged.  Plans  were  made  last 
winter,  mainly  by  Mrs.  Garfield,  who  has  considerable  natural 
talent  for  architecture,  and  in  the  spring  a  new  house  grew 
around  and  over  the  old  one,  just  in  time  for  the  throng  of  old 
frchds  and  new  that  poured  in  after  the  nomination  of  its 
owner  for  the  Presidency.  The  house  faces  the  Ridge  Road 
which  runs  from  Cleveland  eastward  to  Erie,  through  a  string 
of  pretty  towns  and  villages.  It  is  broad,  high,  and  spacious. 
Its  two  stories  are  capped  by  a  steep  red  roof,  which  shelters  a 
big  garret  lighted  by  dormer  windows.  A  wide  piazza  extend' 
the  whole  length  of  the  front — a  wide  hall  runs  through  to  a 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  240 

hack  porch.  Below  is  the  parlor,  dining-room,  kitchen  and  two 
large  bed-rooms,  the  pleasantest  being  the  room  of  "  grandma," 
the  venerable  mother  of  the  General,  who  is  now  nearly  eighty 
years  old.  Above  are  numerous  sleeping-rooms  and  the  study 
of  the  master  of  the  house.  A  few  steps  from  the  house,  in  the 
edge  of  the  orchard  is  a  little  building  of  a  single  room,  called 
the  library,  with  its  walls  lined  with  bookcases,  its  windows 
on  all  sides  through  which  the  lake  breeze  pours*  A  pleasanter 
working  place  for  a  summer  day  could  not  be  desired. 

The  farm  raises  good  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  corn,  hay,  and 
potatoes,  and  the  big  barns  hardly  hold  the  products  of  the 
harvest.  There  is  a  good  orchard,  a  little  vineyard,  and  a  large 
vegetable  garden  which  comes  up  unabashed  beside  the  croquet 
lawn  and  crowds  its  cabbage-heads  and  pea-vines  against  the 
roadside  fence.  The  railroad  runs  through  the  meadows  on  the 
lower  end  of  the  farm  ;  the  village  of  Mentor,  with  a  score  of 
neat  white  houses,  three  little  churches,  and  a  fine  brick  school-' 
house,  is  half  a  mile  distant ;  Painesville,  the  county  town,  with 
a  population  of  5000,  is  six  miles  eastward  by  an  excellent 
gravel  road  ;  Willoughby,  a  village  where  the  census-taker  has 
found  just  999  inhabitants,  is  four  miles  westward  on  the  high 
road  to  Cleveland  ;  over  the  wooded  hills  to  the  southward, 
three  miles  distant  is  the  half-deserted  village  of  Kirtland,  where 
the  first  temple  built  by  the  Mormons  is  still  standing,  an  en- 
during monument  to  folly  and  superstition  ;  Lake  Erie  is  three 
miles  north,  and  on  the  southeastern  horizon  that  dark  green 
elevation  is  the  hemlock-covered  summit  of  Little  Mountain, 
and  the  white  fleck  on  its  brow  is  the  hotel  from  whose  portico 
can  be  seen  thirty  miles  of  the  blue  waters  and  fertile  shores  of 
Lake  Erie.  The  County  of  Lake  is  strongly  Republican,  every 
town  in  it  giving  a  heavy  Republican  majority.  The  people  are 
of  New  England  descent — an  unmixed  race  of  Yankees  modified 
in  their  characteristics  only  by  the  influence  of  a  climate  less 
severe  and  conditions  of  life  less  rigorous  than  prevail  in  rural 


250  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  QARFIKLl). 

New  England.  A  thriftier  or  more  intelligent  farming  popu- 
lation cannot  be  found  in  the  United  States.  "With  all  these 
pleasant  surroundings,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Garlields  are 
greatly  attached  to  their  farm.  Whatever  may  be  the  result  of 
the  next  election,  they  will  keep  it  as  a  permanent  home. 

General  Garfield  has  hud  seven  children  and  five  are  living. 
The  oldest,  Mary,  died  when  he  was  in  the  army  and  the  young- 
est, Edward,  died  in  Washington  about  four  years  ago.  Of  the 
surviving  children,  the  oldest,  Harry,  is  fourteen  ;  after  him 
come  James,  Molly,  Irwin  (named  after  General  McDowell), 
and  Abram.  Harry  and  James  are  preparing  for  college  at  St. 
Paul's  School  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire.  Harry  is  the 
musician  of  the  family  and  plays  the  piano  Avcll.  James,  who 
more  resembles  his  father,  is  the  mathematician.  Molly,  a 
handsome  girl  of  thirteen,  is  ruddy,  sweet-tempered,  vivacious, 
ami  blessed  with  perfect  health.  The  younger  boys  are  still  iu 
fhe  period  of  boisterous  animal  life.  All  the  children  have 
quick  brains  and  are  strongly  individualized.  All  learned  to 
read  young  except  Abe,  who  hearing  that  his  father  had  years 
ago  said  in  a  lecture  on  education,  that  no  child  of  his  should 
be  forced  to  read  until  he  was  seven  years  old,  took  refuge  be- 
hind the  parental  theory  and  declined  to  learn  his  letters  until 
he  had  reached  that  age. 

Mrs.  Gartiekl  superintends  all  the  duties  of  the  household  and 
helps  in  its  active  labors  during  a  portion  of  each  day.  Her 
tastes  are  for  a  quiet  domestic  life,  brightened  by  reading  and 
study  and  by  the  society  of  a  few  intimate  friends.  Few  women 
have  as  wide  a  range  of  culture.  She  reads  Greek  and  Latin, 
German  and  French,  has  considerable  knowledge  of  the  natural 
sciences,  and  keeps  up  with  the  best  of  the  literature  of  the 
day.  She  is  the  companion  of  her  husband's  intellectual  life  as 
well  as  the  devoted  mother  of  his  children,  the  skilful  manager 
of  his  household,  and  the  cordial  hostess  of  the  many  guests 
attracted  by  his  fame  and  his  social  qualities. 


LIVE  OF  JAM1M  A.   OAliFIELD.  251 

The  manner  of  life  in  the  Garlic-Id  household,  whether  in 
Washington  or  on  the  Mentor  farm,  is  simple  and  quiet.  The 
long  table  is  bountifully  supplied  with  plainly-cooked  food,  and 
there  is  always  room  for  any  guest  who  may  drop  in  at  meal- 
time. No  alcoholic  drinks  are  used.  There  is  no  effort  at  fol 
lowing  fashions  in  furniture  or  table  service.  No  carriage  is 
kept  in  Washington,  but  on  the  farm  there  are  vehicles  of  vari- 
ous sorts  and  two  teams  of  stout  horses.  Comfort,  neatness, 
and  order  prevail  without  the  least  attempt  at  keeping  up  with 
styles  of  dress  and  living,  or  any  desire  to  sacrifice  the  health- 
ful regularity  of  household  customs  adopted  before  the  General 
won  fame  and  position,  to  the  artificial  usages  of  what  is  called 
good  society. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GENERAL    GARFIELD^S    RELIGION. 

AT  the  centre  of  Mentor  Township  stands  a  little  white 
church  surmounted  by  a  little  white  steeple.  Within,  the  plain, 
straight-backed  pews  give  seating  accommodations  for  about 
nvo  hundred  people.  There  is  no  pulpit.  Upon  a  broad  car- 
peted platform  stands  an  old-fashioned  mahogany  table,  which, 
with  the  aid  of  a  big  red  curtain,  forms  a  reading-desk.  After 
the  sermon  is  over,  the  cushion  and  the  Bible  which  it  sup 
ports  are  removed.  A  white  cloth  is  spread  upon  the  table, 
tin-  communion  service  is  brought  out  from  a  cupboard  m-ar 
at  hand,  and  the  sacrament,  called  by  the  Disciples  the 
Lord's  Supper,  is  partaken  of  by  all  the  congregation  who 
are  so  disposed.  The  choir  sit  in  the  centre  of  the  auditorium, 
in  the  midst  of  the  pews.  A  large  framed  motto—"  P.lessed  I..- 
the  Peacemakers"  —  hangs  on  the  wall  near  the  platform.  The 
windows  of  common  glass  are  screened  by  green  shutters,  :m>! 
the  place  suggests  a  simple,  primitive  form  of  worship,  without 


2o3  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

t 

ritual,  ceremonial,  or  adjuncts  of  any  sort  to  impress  the  imagi- 
nation. This  is  the  home  church  of  General  Garfield,  where 
he  and  his  family  attend  worship  regularly,  while  living  upon 
their  farm.  Garfield  joined  the  Disciples  when  a  lad  of  eigh- 
teen, and  has  been  a  member  of  that  denomination  ever  since. 

The  full  name  of  the  sect  is  Disciples  of  Christ.  Members  of 
other  denominations  frequently  call  them  Campbellites.  They 
number  about  500,000,  and  have  the  centre  of  their  strength  in 
Western  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  In- 
diana, within  the  radius  of  the  labors  of  their  founder,  Alexan- 
der Campbell,  of  Bethany,  West  Virginia.  In  the  East  they 
are  almost  unknown,  but  they  have  scattered  churches  through- 
out the  Gulf  States,  are  numerous  in  Illinois  and  Missouri,  and 
are  pretty  well  organized  in  other  States  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
Campbell  was  a  Presbyterian  preacher  of  remarkable  force  of 
mind  and  powers  of  oratory,  who  came  from  Ireland,  in  1809, 
with  his  father,  and  settled  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylva- 
nia. He  established  an  independent  chinch  at  Brush  Run,  in 
that  county,  on  the  theory  that  all  creeds  were  human,  and, 
therefore,  without  authority,  and  that  every  Christian  was  his 
own  judge  of  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures.  It  was  an  epoch 
of  intense  doctrinal  differences,  when  Protestantism  in  this  coun- 
try seemed  to  have  degenerated  into  a  battle  of  creeds.  This 
sturdy  reformer,  preaching  no  creed  but  the  Bible,  and  claiming 
for  all  believers  liberty  of  conscience  and  judgment  with  regard 
to  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  book,  struck  a  responsive  chord 
in  the  public  mind.  Hundreds  joined  his  standard  wherever 
he  preached,  and  within  a  few  years  after  he  commenced  his  in- 
dependent ministry  in  1827,  a  new  sect  had  arisen  ackiii  wledg- 
ing  him  as  its  leader.  His  discourses  formed  a  body  of  doc- 
trine for  this  sect,  although  its  members,  owning  no  authority 
but  the  Bible  itself,  did  not  acknowledge  them  as  in  any  sense 
authoritative.  To  all  intents  and  purposes,  however,  he  was 
the  founder  of  Disci  plefsm,  as  much  as  Calvin  was  of  Presbv- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  253 

terianism  and  "Wesley  of  Methodism.  In  1841  he  established  a 
college  at  Bethany,  near  Wheeling,  which  soon  became  the  ed- 
ucational and  doctrinal  centre  of  the  new  denomination,  and 
began  to  publish  a  periodical  called  the  Millennial  Harlnnyer, 
which  was  everywhere  received  as  its  organ,  and  is  still  in  ex- 
istence. 

The  Disciples  endeavored  to  restore  the  spirit  and  methods 
of  primitive  Christianity.  They  admit  to  their  membership 
any  one  who  will  receive  the  rite  of  baptism  by  immersion  and 
answer  in  the  affirmative  the  following  question  :  "  Do  you 
believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  and  your  Saviour  ?" 
Nothing  is  asked  about  doctrinal  points.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult 
to  ascertain  the  precise  points  of  difference  between  the  Disci- 
ples and  other  denominations,  because  few  of  them  can  be  got 
to  formulate  their  faith.  The  New  Testament,  they  say,  is 
their  guide  of  faith  and  practice,  and  they  have  no  catechism  or 
books  of  reference  to  settle  questions  of  dispute.  Practically, 
they  agree  on  a  few  general  doctrines,  such  as  the  necessity  of 
immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins,  but  on  most  controverted 
theological  points  they  allow  a  wide  latitude  for  individual 
opinion.  They  are  not  Calvinists.  They  believe  in  the  power 
of  every  human  -soul  to  obtain  salvation.  They  do  not,  as  a 
rule,  believe  in  the  elernal  Sonshipof  Christ,  although  agreeing 
with  Trinitarians  respecting  His  divine  nature.  They  do  not  in- 
vest the  Lord's  Supper  with  a  sacramental  idea,  but  regard  it 
only  as  a  memorial  festival  designed  to  quicken  their  love  of 
Christ  and  strengthen  the  ties  of  brotherhood  between  them- 
selves. Sunday  they  call  the  Lord's  Day,  and  they  do  not  ap- 
ply to  it  the  law  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  to  the  extent  that  most 
of  the  older  sects  do.  In  church  government  they  are  purely 
Congregational,  recognizing  no  authority  either  to  direct  or 
advise,  superior  to  the  individual  congregation.  They  support 
a  missionary  society,  have  a  book  concern,  with  branches  at  Cin 
i-innati  and  at  Oskaloosa,  Iowa,  and  maintain  a  large  number  'of 


->4  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.   GAEFIELD. 

colleges  and  seminaries.  Indeed,  they  claim  that  they  have 
more  institutions  of  learning  in  proportion  to  their  membership 
than  any  other  denomination. 

The  Disciples  are  a  friendly,  sociable  people.  They  are  fond 
of  calling  each  other  by  their  first  names,  prefaced  often  by  the 
affectionate  term  brother  or  sister,  and  are  very  cordial  in  their 
personal  intercourse  "with  fellow-members.  They  care  less  for 
the  Old  Testament  than  do  the  Calvinists  and  Methodists,  and 
do  not  speculate  much  about  the  Book  of  Bevelations,  The  Gos- 
pels, the  Acts,  and  the  Epistles  are  studied  closely.  They  are 
very  hospitable  and  entertain  travelling  brethren  at  their  houses 
in  the  manner  of  the  apostolic  times.  They  have  communion 
service  in  their  churches  every  Sunday  after  the  morning  dis- 
course. Of  late  years  they  have  supported  a  settled  ministry, 
hut  their  early  successes  were  achieved  by  travelling  preachers 
speaking  in  the  woods,  or  in  tents  which  were  transported  in 
big  wagons  around  the  country.  Any  member  can  speak  in 
their  pulpits,  administer  the  communion,  and  baptize  converts. 
The  ministry  is  not  a  peculiar  class,  although  there  is  a  form  of 
ordination  for  men  who  wish  to  devote  themselves  to  it. 

General  Garfield's  father  and  mother  sat  under  the  powerful 
preaching  of  Alexander  Campbell,  when  he  visited  their  locality 
during  one  of  his  tours,  and  were  converted  to  the  new  faith 
without  creed  or  catechism,  discipline,  or  formulated  statement. 
•  if  belief  of  any  sort.  It  was  natural  that  their  son  should  con 
iH'i-t  himself  with  the  same  denomination.  Most  of  his  early 
.••duration  before  he  went  to  college  was  got  at  a  new  struggling 
(Disciples'  school  at  Hiram.  His  gift  of  public  speaking  soon 
drew  him  into  the  wray  of  talking  at  religious  meetings,  and  h.j 
>.\. -is  constantly  encouraged  in  this  habit  by  the  members  of  the 
denomination,  who  saw  that  his  powerful  intellect  and  unusual 
••.::sii>rioal  powers  would  be  of  great  help  to  them.  Although 
!re  spoke  regularly  in  the  churches  of  Hiram,  Solon,  and  N«-w- 

ng   for  nearly  three  years,  he  never  had  the  thought  of  do- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD.  255 

voting  himself  to  the  ministry.  Law  was  then  his  chosen  pro- 
fession, lie  was  never  ordained,  but  was  what  might  be  call- 
ed a  lay  preacher,  filling  pulpits  on  Sundays  while  teaching 
week-days.  Those  who  remember  his  preaching  say  that  it  was 
characterized  by  the  vigor,  magnetism,  wealth  of  illustration, 
and  intellectual  force  of  his  later  political  addresses.  The  war 
put  a  stop  to  both  his  teaching  and  his  pulpit  work.  .He  ha-; 
since  kept  up  his  association  with  the  church  of  his  boyhood, 
but.  has  not  taken  an  active  part  in  its  religious  services,  save 
now  and  then  to  offer  a  prayer  in  the  church  at  Mentor,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  call  from  the  minister. 

With  General  Garfield's  breadth  of  mind  and  keen  interest  in 
scientific  research  and  philosophical  discussion,  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  run  in  any  narrow  rut  of  sectarianism. 
His  religious  views  are  characterized  by  great  tolerance  and  lib- 
erality. His  Christianity  is  of  a  very  broad  pattern,  and  is 
without  a  trace  of  bigotry.  In  form  it  is  the  religion  of  his 
parents  ;  in  spirit  it  is  enlightened,  elevated,  and  imbued  with 
the  progressive  thought  of  the  age  ;  a  Christianity  not  of  cere- 
monies and  statements,  but  of  humanity  and  the  heart. 


STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR. 


PARAGRAPHS 


FROM 


GENERAL  GARFIELD'S  SPEECHES. 


THE  DEATH  OF  SLAVERY. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Jan.  13,  1865,  on  the 
Constitutional  Amendment  to  abolish  slavery.] 

WE  shall  never  know  why  slavery  dies  so  hard  in  this  Republic 
and  in  this  hall  until  we  know  why  sin  has  such  longevity  and  Satan 
is  immortal.  With  marvellous  tenacity  of  existence,  it  has  outlived 
the  expectations  of  its  friends  and  the  hopes  of  its  enemies.  It  has 
been  declared  here  and  elsewhere  to  be  in  all  the  several  stages  of 
mortality — wounded,  moribund,  dead.  The  question  was  raised 
by  my  colleague  [Mr.  Cox]  yesterday,  whether  it  was  indeed  dead 
or  only  in  a  troubled  sleep.  I  know  of  no  better  illustration  of  its 
condition  than  is  found  in  Sallust's  admirable  history  of  the  great 
conspirator,  Catiline,  who  when  his  final  battle  was  fought  and  lost, 
his  army  broken  and  scattered,  was  found  far  in  advance  of  his  own 
troops,  lying  among  the  dead  enemies  of  Rome,  yet  breathing  a 
little,  but  exhibiting  in  his  countenance  all  that  ferocity  of  spirit 
which  had  characterized  his  life.  So,  sir,  this  body  of  slavery  lies 
before  us  among  the  dead  enemies  of  the  Republic,  mortally 
wounded,  impotent  in  its  fiendish  wickedness,  but  with  its  old 
ferocity  of  look,  bearing  the  unmistakable  marks  of  its  infernal 
origin. 

Who  does  not  remember  that  thirty  years  ago — a  short  period  in 
the  life  of  a  nation — but  little  could  be  said  with  impunity  in  these 
halls  on  the  subject  of  slavery  ?  How  well  do  gentlemen  here  re- 
member the  history  of  that  distinguished  predecessor  of  mine, 


260    GARF1ELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR. 

Joshua  R.  Giddings,  lately  gone  to  his  rest,  who,  with  his  forlorn 
hope  of  faithful  men,  took  his  life  in  his  hand,  and  in  the  name  of 
justice  protested  against  the  great  crime,  and  who  stood  bravely  in 
his  place  until  his  white  locks,  like  the  plume  of  Henry  of  Navarre, 
marked  where  the  battle  for  freedom  raged  fiercest  ! 

We  can  hardly  realize  that  this  is  the  same  people,  and  these  the 
same  halls,  where  now  scarcely  a  man  can  be  found  who  will  ven- 
ture to  do  more  than  falter  out  an  apology  for  slavery,  protesting 
in  the  same  breath  that  he  has  no  love  for  the  dying  tyrant.  None 
I  believe,  but  that  man  of  supernal  boldness  from  the  City  of  New 
York  [Mr.  Fernando  Wood],  has  ventured  this  session  to  raise  his 
voice  in  favor  of  slavery  for  its  own  sake.  He  still  sees  in  its  feat- 
ures the  reflection  of  beauty  and  divinity,  and  only  he.  "  How  art 
thou  fallen  from  heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning  !  How  art 
thou  cut  down  to  the  ground,  which  didst  weaken  the  nations  !" 

Many  mighty  men  >have  been  slain  by  thee,  many  proud  ones 
have  humbled  themsrfves  at  thy  feet  !  All  along  the  coast  of  our 
political  sea  these  victims  of  slavery  lie  like  stranded  wrecks,  broken 
on  the  headlands  of  freedom.  How  lately  did  its  advocates,  with 
impious  boldness,  maintain  it  as  God's  own,  to  be  venerated  and 
cherished  as  divine  !  It  was  another  and  higher  form  of  civiliza- 
tion. It  was  the  holy  Evangel  of  America  dispensing  its  mercies 
to  a  benighted  race,  and  destined  to  bear  countless  blessings  to  the 
wilderness  of  the  West.  In  its  mad  arrogance  it  lifted  its  hand  to 
strike  down  the  fabric  of  the  Union,  and  since  that  fatal  day  it  has 
been  a  "  fugitive  and  a  vagabond  on  the  earth."  Like  the  spirit 
Jesus  cast  out,  it  has  since  then  been  "  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none." 

It  has  sought  in  all  the  corners  of  the  Republic  to  find  some  hid- 
ing place  in  which  to  shelter  itself  from  the  death  it  so  richly  de- 
serves. 

It  sought  an  asylum  in  the  untrodden  Territories  of  the  West,  but 
with  a  whip  of  scorpions  indignant  freemen  drove  it  thence.  T  do 
not  believe  that  a  loyal  man  can  now  be  found  who  would  consent 
that  it  should  again  enter  them.  It  has  no  hope  of  harbor  there. 
It  found  no  protection  or  favor  in  the  hearts  or  consciences  of  the 
freemen  of  the  Republic,  and  has  fled  for  its  last  hope  of  safety 
behind  the  shield  of  the  Constitution.  We  propose  to  follow  it 
there,  and  drive  it  thence  as  Satan  was  exiled  from  heaven. 


SUPREMACY   OF   THE   CIVIL   LAW. 

[From  an  Argument  made  in  the  Supreme  Court,  March  6,  1866,  in  the  Indiana 
Conspiracy  Case.] 

YOUR  decision  will  mark  an  era  in  American  history.     The  just 
and  final  settlement  of  this  great  question  will  take  a  high  place 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  OUATOR.    2CI 

among  the  great  achievements  which  have  immortalized  this  decade. 
It  will  establish  forever  this  truth,  of  inestimable  value  to  us  and  to 
mankind,  that  a  Republic  can  wield  the  vast  enginery  of  war 
without  breaking  down  the  safeguards  of  liberty  ;  can  suppress  in- 
surrection and  put  down  rebellion,  however  formidable,  without 
destroying  the  bulwarks  of  law  ;  can  by  the  might  of  its  armed  mill- 
ions preserve  and  defend  both  nationality  and  liberty.  Victories 
on  the  field  were  of  priceless  value,  for  they  plucked  the  life  of  the 
Republic  out  of  the  hands  of  its  enemies  ;  but 
"  Peace  hath  her  victories 

No  less  renowned  than  war  ;" 

and  if  the  protection  of  law  shall,  by  your  decision,  be  extended 
over  every  acre  of  our  peaceful  territory,  you  will  have  rendered 
the  great  decision  of  the  century. 

When  Pericles  had  made  Greece  immortal  in  arts  and  arms,  in 
liberty  and  law,  he  invoked  the  genius  of  Phidias  to  devise  a  monu- 
ment which  should  symbolize  the  beauty  and  glory  of  Athens.  That 
artist  selected  for  his  theme  the  tutelar  divinity  of  Athens,  the  Jove- 
born  goddess,  protectress  of  arts  and  arms,  of  industry  and  law,  who 
typified  the  Greek  conception  of  composed,  majestic,  unrelenting 
force. 

He  erected  on  the  heights  of  the  Acropolis  a  colossal  statue  of 
Minerva,  armed  with  spear  and  helmet,  which  towered  in  awful 
majesty  above  the  surrounding  temples  of  the  gods.  Sailors  on 
far-off  ships  beheld  the  crest  and  spear  of  the  goddess  and  bowed 
with  reverent  awe.  To  every  Greek  she  was  the  symbol  of  power 
and  glory.  But  the  Acropolis,  with  its  temples  and  statues  is  now 
a  heap  of  ruins.  The  visible  gods  have  vanished  in  the  clearer  light 
of  modern  civilization.  We  cannot  restore  the  decayed  emblems  of 
ancient  Greece  ;  but  it  is  in  your  power,  O  judges,  to  erect  in  this 
citadel  of  our  liberties  a  monument  more  lasting  than  brass  ;  invisi- 
ble indeed  to  the  eye  of  flesh,  but  visible  to  the  eye  of  the  spirit  as 
the  awful  form  and  figure  of  Justice,  crowning  and  adorning  the 
Republic  ;  rising  above  the  storms  of  political  strife,  above  the  din 
of  battle,  above  the  earthquake  shock  01  rebellion  ;  seen  from  afar 
and  hailed  as  protector  by  the  oppressed  of  all  nations  ;  dispensing 
equal  blessings,  and  covering  with  the  protecting  shield  of  law  the 
weakest,  the  humblest,  the  meanest  and,  until  declared  by  solemn 
law  unworthy  of  protection,  the  guiltiest  of  its  citizens. 


RESTORATION  OF  THE  REBEL  STATES. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  i,  1866.] 
AND  first,  we  must  recognize  in  all  our  action  the  stupendous  facts 
of  the  war.      In  the  very  crisis  of  our  fate  God  brought  us  face  to 


2G2     QAEFIELI)  AS  STATESMAN  AXD  ORATOR. 

face  with  the  alarming  truth  that  we  must  lose  our  own  freedom  or 
grant  it  to  the  slave.  In  the  extremity  of  our  distress  we  railed 
upon  the  black  man  to  help  us  save  the  Republic,  and  amid  the 
very  thunder  of  battle  we  made  a  covenant  with  him,  sealed  both 
with  his  blood  and  ours,  and  witnessed  by  Jehovah,  that  when  the 
nation  was  redeemed  he  should  be  free  and  share  with  us  the  glories 
and  blessings  of  freedom.  In  the  solemn  words  ofthe  great  proc- 
lamation of  emancipation,  we  not  only  declared  the  slaves  forever 
free,  but  we  pledged  the  faith  of  the  nation  "  to  maintain  their  free- 
dom"— mark  the  words,  "  to  maintain  their  freedom."  The  omnis- 
cient witness  will  appear  in  judgment  against  us  if  we  do  not  fulfil 
that  covenant.  Have  we  done  it  ?  Have  we  given  Ireedom  to  the 
black  man  ?  What  is  freedom  ?  Is  it  a  mere  negation — the  bare 
privilege  of  not  being  chained,  bought  and  sold,  branded  and 
scourged  ?  If  this  be  all,  then  freedom  is  a  bitter  mockery,  a  cruel 
delusion,  and  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  slavery  were  not 
better. 

But  liberty  is  no  negation.  It  is  a  substantive,  tangible  reality. 
It  is  the  realization  of  those  imperishable  truths  of  the  Declaration 
"  that  all  men  are  created  equal,"  that  the  sanction  of  all  just  gov- 
ernment is  "the  consent  of  the  governed."  Can  these  truths  be 
realized  until  each  man  has  a  right  be  to  heard  on  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  himself  ? 

Mr.  Speaker,  we  did  more  than  merely  to  break  off  the  chains  of 
the  slaves.     The  abolition  of  slavery  added  four  million  citizens  to 
the  Republic.     By  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  by  the  de- 
cision of  the  Attorney-General,   by  the  decision  of  all  the  depart- 
ments of  our  Government,  those  men  made  free  are,   by  the  act  of 
freedom,  made  citizens.  As  another  has  said,  they  must  be  "  four  mill 
ion  disfranchised,  disarmed,  untaught,  landless,  thriftless,  non-pro 
ducing,  non-consuming,  degraded  men,  or  four  million  land-holding, 
industrious,  arms-bearing,  and  voting  population.     Choose  between 
the  two  !" 

Mr.  Speaker,  let  us  learn  a  lesson  from  the  dealing  of  God  with 
the  Jewish  nation.  When  his  chosen  people,  led  by  the  pillar  of 
cloud  and  fire,  had  crossed  the  Red  Sea  and  traversed  the  gloomy 
wilderness  with  its  thundering  Sinai,  its  bloody  batiles,  disastrous 
defeats,  and  glorious  victories  ;  when  near  the  end  of  their  perilous 
pilgrimage  they  listened  to  the  last  words  of  blessing  and  warning 
from  their  great  leader  before  he  was  buried  with  immortal  honors 
by  the  angel'  of  the  Lord  ;  when  at  last  the  victorious  host,  sadly 
joyful,  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  their  enemies  drowned  in 
the  sea  or  slain  in  the  wilderness,  they  paused  and  made  solemn 
preparation  to  pass  over  and  possess  the  land  of  promise.  By  the 
i-ommand  of  God,  given  through  Moses  and  enforced  by  his  great 


GARF1ELD  A3  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.    263 

successor,  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  containing  the  tables  of  the  law 
and  the  sacred  memorials  of  their  pilgrimage,  was  borne  by  chosen 
men  two  thousand  cubits  in  advance  of  the  people.  On  the  further 
shore  stood  Ebal  and  Gerizim,  the  mounts  of  cursing  and  blessing, 
from  which,  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  people,  were  pronounced  the 
curses  of  God  against  injustice  and  disobedience,  and  his  blessing 
upon  justice  and  obedience.  On  the  shore,  between  the  mountains 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  a  monument  was  erected,  and  on  it 
were  written  the  words  of  the  law,  "  to  be  a  memorial  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  forever  and  ever."  Let  us  learn  wisdom  from  this 
illustrious  example.  We  have  passed  the  Red  Sea  of  slaughter  ; 
our  garments  are  yet  wet  with  its  crimson  spray.  We  have  crossed 
the  fearful  wilderness  of  war,  and  have  left  our  four  hundred  thou- 
sand heroes  to  sleep  beside  the  dead  enemies  of  the  Republic.  We 
have  heard  the  voice  of  God  amid  the  thunders  of  battle  command- 
ing us  to  wash  our  hands  of  iniquity,  to  "  proclaim  liberty  through- 
out all  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof."  When  we  spurned 
his  counsels  we  were  defeated,  and  the  gulfs  of  ruin  yawned  before 
us.  When  we  obeyed  his  voice,  he  gave  us  victory.  And  now 
at  last  we  have  reached  the  confines  of  the  wilderness.  Before  us 
is  the  land  of  promise,  the  land  of  hope,  the  land  of  peace,  filled 
with  possibilities  of  greatness  and  glory  too  vast  for  the  grasp  of  the 
imagination.  Are  we  worthy  to  enter  it  ?  On  what  condition  may 
it  be  ours  to  enjoy  and  transmit  to  our  children's  children  ?  Let  us 
pause  and  make  deliberate  and  solemn  preparation.  Let  us,  as 
representatives  of  the  people,  whose  servants  we  are,  bear  in 
advance  the  sacred  ark  of  republican  liberty,  with  its  tables  of  the 
law  inscribed  with  the  "  irreversible  guaranties"  of  liberty.  Let 
us  here  build  a  monument  on  which  shall  be  written  not  only  the 
curses  of  the  law  against  treason,  disloyalty,  and  oppression,  but 
also  an  everlasting  covenant  of  peace  and  blessing  with  loyalty, 
liberty,  and  obedience  ;  and  all  the  people  will  say,  Amen. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Remarks  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
April  14,  1865.] 

IT  was  no  one  man  who  killed  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  it  was  the  em- 
bodied spirit  of  treason  and  slavery,  inspired  with  fearful  and 
despairing  hate,  that  struck  him  down,  in  the  moment  of  the  nation's 
supremest  joy. 

Sir,  there  are  times  in  the  history  of  men  and  nations  when  they 
stand  so  near  the  veil  that  separates  mortals  and  immortals,  time 


^64     GARF1ELD  Ati  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 

from  eternity,  and  men  from  their  God,  that  they  can  almost  hear 
the  beatings  and  feel  the  pulsations  of  the  heart  of  the  Infinite. 

Through  such  a  time  has  this  nation  passed.  When  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  brave  spirits  passed  from  the  field  of  honor, 
through  that  thin  veil,  to  the  presence  of  God,  and  when  at  last 
its  parting  folds  admitted  the  martyr  President  to  the  com- 
pany of  these  dead  heroes  of  the  Republic,  the  nation  stood  so  near 
the  veil  that  the  whispers  of  God  were  heard  by  the  children  of  men. 
Awe-stricken  by  his  voice,  the  American  people  knelt  in  tearful 
reverence  and  made  a  solemn  covenant  with  him  and  with  each 
other,  that  this  nation  should  be  saved  from  its  enemies,  that  all  its 
glories  should  be  restored,  and  on  the  ruins  of  slavery  and  treason 
the  temples  of  justice  and  freedom  should  be  built  and  should  sur- 
vive forever. 

It  remains  for  us,  consecrated  by  that  great  event  and  under  a 
covenant  with  God,  to  keep  that  faith,  to  go  forward  in  the  great 
work  until  it  shall  be  completed.  Following  the  lead  of  that  great 
man,  and  obeying  the  higher  behests  of  God,  let  us  remember  that 

"  He  has  sounded  forth  a  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat  : 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  his  judgment  seat. 
Be  swift  my  soul  to  answer  Him,  be  jubilant  my  feet  ; 
For  God  is  marching  on.-' 


PUBLIC   DEBT   AND   SPECIE   PAYMENTS. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  16,  1866.] 

I  PROPOSE,  sir,  to  let  the  House  take  the  responsibility  of  adopt- 
ing or  rejecting  this  measure.  On  the  one  side  it  is  proposed  to 
return  to  solid  and  honest  values  ;  on  the  other,  to  float  on  the 
boundless  and  shoreless  sea  of  paper  money,  with  all  its  dishonesty 
and  broken  pledges.  We  leave  it  to  the  House  to  decide  which 
alternative  it  will  choose.  Choose  the  one,  and  you  float  away  into 
an  unknown  sea  of  paper  money  that  shall  know  no  decrease  until 
you  take  just  such  a  measure  as  is  now  proposed  to  bring  us  back 
again  to  solid  values.  Delay  the  measure,  and  it  will  cost  the 
country  dear.  Adopt  it  now,  and  with  a  little  depression  in  busi- 
ness and  a  little  strigency  in  the  money  market  the  worst  will  be 
over,  and  we  shall  have  reached  the  solid  earth.  Sooner  or  later 
such  a  measure  must  be  adopted.  Go  on  as  you  are  now  going  on, 
and  a  financial  crisis  worse  than  that  of  1837  will  bring  us  to  the 
bottom.  I  for  one  am  unwilling  that  my  name  shall  be  linked  to 
the  fate  of  a  paper  currency.  I  believe  that  any  party  which  com- 
mits itself  to  paper  money  will  go  down  amid  the  general  disaster, 
covered  with  the  curses  of  a  ruined  people. 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR.    265 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  remember  that  on  the  monument  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, where  her  glories  were  recited  and  her  honors  summed  up, 
among  the  last  and  the  highest,  recorded  as  the  climax  of  her 
honors,  was  this — that  she  had  restored  the  money  of  her  king- 
dom to  its  just  value.  And  when  this  House  shall  have  done  its 
work,  when  it  shall  have  brought  back  values  to  their  proper  stand 
ard,  it  will  deserve  a  monument. 


A   NATIONAL   BUREAU   OF   EDUCATION. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  8,  1866.] 

WHEN  the  history  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  is  written  it  will 
be  recorded  that  two  great  ideas  inspired  it,  and  made  their  impress 
upon  all  its  efforts,  viz.,  to  build  up  free  States  on  the  ruins  of 
slavery,  and  to  extend  to  every  inhabitant  of  the  United  States  the 
lights  and  privileges  of  citizenship. 

Before  the  divine  Architect  builded  order  out  of  chaos,  he  said, 
"  Let  there  be  light."  Shall  we  commit  the  fatal  mistake  of  building 
up  free  States  without  first  expelling  the  darkness  in  which  slavery 
had  shrouded  their  people  ?  Shall  we  enlarge  the  boundaries  of 
citizenship  and  make  no  provision  to  increase  the  intelligence  of  the 
citizen  ?  I  share  most  fully  in  the  aspirations  of  this  Congress, 
and  give  my  most  cordial  support  to  its  policy  ;  but  I  believe  its 
work  will  prove  a  disastrous  failure  unless  it  makes  the  schoolmas- 
ter its  ally,  and  aids  him  in  preparing  the  children  of  the  United 
States  to  perfect  the  work  now  begun. 

The  stork  is  a  sacred  bird  in  Holland,  and  is  protected  by  her 
laws,  because  it  destroys  those  insects  which  would  undermine  the 
dikes  and  let  the  sea  again  overwhelm  the  rich  fields  of  the  Nether- 
lands. Shall  this  Government  do  nothing  to  foster  and  strengthen 
those  educational  agencies  which  alone  can  shield  the  coming  gen- 
eration from  ignorance  and  vice,  and  make  it  the  impregnable  bul- 
wark of  liberty  and  law  ? 


REFUSAL   TO   RETURN   FUGITIVE   SLAVES. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  8,  1867.] 

I  CANNOT  forget  that  less  than  five  years  ago  I  received  an  order 
from  my  superior  officer  in  the  army  commanding  me  to  search  my 
camp  for  a  fugitive  slave,  and  if  found  to  deliver  him  up  to  a  Ken- 
tucky captain,  who  claimed  him  as  his  property,  and  I  had  the  honor 


266     GAHFTELT)  AS  KTA  TEAMAN  AND   ORATOH. 

to  be  perhaps  the  first  officer  in  the  army  who  peremptorily  refused 
to  obey  such  an  order.  We  were  then  trying  to  save  the  Union 
without  hurting  slavery.  I  remember,  sir,  that  when  we  undertook 
to  agitate  in  the  army  the  question  of  putting  aims  into  the  hands 
of  the  slaves,  it  was  said.  "  Sush  a  step  will  be  fatal  :  it  will  alienate 
half  our  army  and  lose  us  Kentucky."  By  and  by,  when  our  neces- 
sities were  imperious,  we  ventured  to  let  the  negroes  dig  in  the 
trenches,  but  it  would  not  do  to  put  muskets  into  their  hands.  We 
ventured  to  let  the  negro  drive  a  mule  team,  but  it  would  not  do  to 
have  a  white  man  or  a  mulatto  just  in  front  of  him,  or  behind  him  ; 
all  must  be  negroes  in  that  train  :  you  must  not  disgrace  a  white 
soldier  by  putting  him  in  such  company.  "  By  and  by,"  some  one 
said,  "  rebel  guerillas  may  capture  the  mules  ;  so  for  the  sake  of  the 
mules  let  us  put  a  few  muskets  in  the  wagons,  and  let  the  negroes 
shoot  the  guerillas  if  they  come."  So  for  the  sake  of  the  mules  we 
enlarged  the  limits  of  liberty  a  little.  By  and  by  we  allowed  the 
negroes  to  build  fortifications  and  armed  them. 


TAXATION  OF  UNITED  STATES  BONDS. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  July  5,  1868.] 

THERE  was  a  declaration  made  by  an  old  English  gentleman  in 
the  days  of  Charles  the  Second  which  does  honor  to  human  nature. 
He  said  he  was  willing,  at  any  time,  to  give  his  life  for  the  good 
of  his  country,  but  he  would  not  do  a  mean  thing  to  save  his  coun- 
try from  ruin  So,  sir,  ought  a  citizen  to  feel  in  regard  to  our  finan- 
cial affairs.  The  people  of  the  United  States  can  afford  to  make 
any  sacrifice  for  their  country,  and  the  history  of  the  last  war  has 
proved  their  willingness  ;  but  the  humblest  citizen  cannot  afford  to 
do  a  mean  or  dishonorable  thing  to  save  even  this  glorious  Republic. 

For  my  own  part  I  will  consent  to  no  act  of  dishonor.  And  I 
look  upon  this  proposition — though  I  cannot  think  the  gentleman 
meant  it  to  be  so — as  having  in  itself  the  very  essence  of  dishonor. 
I  shall,  therefore,  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability,  resist  it. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  in  my  opinion 
nil  these  efforts  to  pursue  a  doubtful  and  unusual,  if  not  dishonora- 
ble policy  in  reference  to  our  public  debt,  spring  from  a  lack  of 
faith  in  the  intelligence  and  conscience  of  the  American  people. 
Hardly  an  hour  passes  when  we  do  not  hear  it  whispered  that  some 
snrh  policy  as  this  must  be  adopted,  or  the  people  will  by  and  by 
repudiate  the  debt.  For  my  own  part  I  do  not  share  that  distrust. 
The  people  of  this  country  have  shown  by  the  highest  proofs 
human  nature  can  give  that,  wherever  the  path  of  honor  and  duty 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR.    2-0? 

• 

may  lead,  however  riteep  and  rugged  it  may  be,  they  are  ready  to. 
walk  in  it.  They  feel  the  burden  of  the  public  debt,  but  they  re- 
member that  it  is  the  price  of  blood — the  precious  blood  of  half  a 
million  brave  men  who  died  to  save  to  us  all  that  makes  life  desir- 
able or  property  secure.  I  believe  they  will,  after  a  full  hearing, 
discard  all  methods  of  paying  their  debts  by  sleight  of  hand,  or  by 
any  scheme  which  crooked  wisdom  may  devise.  If  public  morality- 
did  not  protest  against  any  such  plan,  enlightened  public  selfishness 
would  refuse  its  sanction.  Let  us  be  true  to  our  trust  a  few  years 
longer,  and  the  next  generation  will  be  here  with  its  seventy-five 
millions  of  population  and  its  sixty  billions  of  wealth.  To  them 
the  debt  that  then  remains  will  be  a  light  burden.  They  will  pay 
the  last  bond  according  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  contract,  with 
the  same  sense  of  grateful  duty  with  which  they  will  pay  the  pen- 
sions of  the  few  surviving  soldiers  of  the  great  war  for  the  Union. 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  4,  1871.] 

Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  review  briefly  the  ground  travelled  over  : 
The  changes  wrought  in  theConstitution  by  the  last  three  amendments 
in  regard  to  the  individual  rights  of  citizens  are  these  :  that  no  per- 
son within  the  United  States  shall  be  made  a  stave  ;  that  no  citizen 
shall  be  denied  the  right  of  suffrage  because  of  his  color  or  because 
he  was  once  a  slave  ;  that  no  State,  by  its  legislation  or  the  enforce- 
ment thereof,  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  ;  that  no  State  shall,  without  due  process  of 
law,  disturb  the  life,  liberty,  or  property  of  any  person  within  its 
jurisdiction  ;  and  finally,  that  no  State  shall  deny  to  any  person 
within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  Laws. 

Thanks  to  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  the  American  people, 
these  great  and  beneficent  provisions  are  now  imperishable  ele- 
ments of  the  Constitution,  and  will,  I  trust,  remain  forever  amonr 
the  irreversible  guaranties  of  liberty. 


THE   TARIFF. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  i,  1870.] 

I  STAND  now  where   I   have  always  stood  since  I   have  been  a 
member  of  this  House.     I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting,   from  the 


268     GARPIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATQfi 

Congressional  Globe  of  1866,  the  following  remarks  which  I  then 
made  on  the  subject  of  the  tariff  : 

"  We  have  seen  that  one  extreme  school  of  economists  would 
place  the  price  of  all  manufactured  articles  in  the  hands  of  foreign 
producers  by  rendering  it  impossible  for  our  manufacturers  to  com- 
pete with  them  ;  while  the  other  extreme  school,  by  making  it  im- 
possible for  the  foreigner  to  sell  his  competing  wares  in  our  market, 
would  give  the  people  no  immediate  check  upon  the  prices  which 
our  manufacturers  might  fix  for  their  products.  I  disagree  with 
both  these  extremes.  I  hold  that  a  properly  adjusted  competition 
between  home  and  foreign  products  is  the  best  gauge  by  which  to 
regulate  international  trade.  Duties  should  be  so  high  that  our 
manufacturers  can  fairly  compete  with  the  foreign  product,  but  not 
so  high  as  to  enable  them  to  drive  out  the  foreign  article,  enjoy  a 
monopoly  of  the  trade,  and  regulate  the  price  as  they  please.  This 
is  my  doctrine  of  protection.  If  Congress  pursues  this  line  of  policy 
steadily,  we  shall,  year  by  year,  approach  more  nearly  to  the  basis 
of  free  trade,  because  we  shall  be  more  nearly  able  to  compete  with 
other  nations  on  equal  terms.  I  am  for  a  protection  which  leads  to 
uitimate  free  trade.  I  am  for  that  free  trade  which  can  only  be 
achieved  through  a  reasonable  protection." 

Mr.  Chairman,  examining  thus  the  possibilities  of  the  situation,  I 
believe  that  the  true  course  for  the  friends  of  protection  to  pursue 
is  to  reduce  the  rates  on  imports  wherever  we  can  justly  and  safely 
do  so,  and,  accepting  neither  of  the  extreme  doctrines  urged  on  this 
floor,  endeavor  to  establish  a  stable  policy  that  will  commend  itself 
to  all  patriotic  and  thoughtful  people. 


DEMOCRATIC   RESPONSIBILITY   FOR   THE   REBELLION. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  14,  1870.] 

MY  friend  from  Indiana  [Mr.  Niblack]  is  not  himself  an  extreme 
partisan.  But  he  has  said  some  things  just  now  which  deserve  an 
answer.  He  says  that  if  the  glory  of  the  war  belongs  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  then  the  results  of  the  war,  the  expenditures  of  the  war, 
and  the  burdens  laid  upon  the  people  in  consequence  of  the  war, 
fall  also  to  our  share.  A  part  of  this  statement  I  indorse.  But, 
Mr.  Chairman,  I  desire  to  ask  that  gentleman  and  his  party  a  ques- 
tion. Suppose  that  in  the  year  1861  every  Democrat  north  of  the 
Potomac  and  the  Ohio  had  followed  the  lead  o'f  Grant,  and  Douglas, 
and  Dickinson,  and  Tod,  and  all  the  other  great  lights  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  had  thrown  away  the  Democratic  name  and  said  that 
they  would  be  Democrats  no  longer,  as  we  said  we  would  be  Re- 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.    269 

publicans  no  longer,  but  all  would  be  Union  men,  and  stand  to- 
gether around  the  flag  until  the  rebellion  had  been  put  under  our 
feet.  I  desire  to  ask  the  gentlemen,  if  these  things  had  happened, 
how  long  the  war  would  have  lasted,  how  much  the  war  would 
have  cost  ?  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  could  not  have  lasted  a 
month,  and  the  expenditures  of  the  war  would  never  have  exceeded 
$10,000,000.  I  say,  as  a  matter  of  current  history,  that  it  was  the 
great  hope  of  the  rebels  of  the  South  that  the  assistance  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  the  North  would  divide  our  forces  and  over- 
come all  our  efforts  ;  that  at  the  ballot-box  the  Democrats  at  home 
would  help  the  cause  which  they  were  maintaining  in  the  field.  It 
was  that,  and  that  alone,  which  protracted  the  war  and  created  our 
immense  debt. 

I  come,  therefore,  to  the  door  of  your  party,  gentlemen  on  the 
other  side,  and  I  lay  down  at  your  threshold  every  dollar  of  the 
debt,  every  item  of  the  stupendous  total  which  expresses  the  great 
cost  of  the  war  ;  and  I  say  if  you  had  followed  Douglas  there  would 
have  been  no  debt,  no  blood,  no  burden. 


THE  WOMAN  QUESTION.      . 

[From  an  Address  before  the  Business  College,  Washington,  D.  C.,  June  ag,  1869.] 

LAUGH  at  it  as  we  may,  put  it  aside  as  a  jest  if  we  will,  keep  it 
out  of  Congress  or  political  campaigns,  still,  the  woman  question 
is  rising  in  our  horizon  larger  than  the  size  of  a  man's  hand  ;  and 
some  solution,  ere  long,  that  question  must  find.  I  have  not  yet 
committed  my  mind  to  any  formula  that  embraces  the  whole  ques- 
tion. I  halt  on  the  threshold  of  so  great  a  problem  ;  but  there  is 
one  point  on  which  I  have  reached  a  conclusion,  and  that  is,  that 
this  nation  must  open  up  new  avenues  of  work  and  usefulness  to 
the  women  of  the  country,  so  that  everywhere  they  may  have  some- 
thing to  do.  This  is,  just  now.  infinitely  more  valuable  to  them 
than  the  platform  or  the  ballot-box.  Whatever  conclusion  shall  be 
reached  on  that  subject  by  and  by,  at  present  the  most  valuable  gilt 
which  can  be  bestowed  on  women  is  something  to  do,  which  they 
can  do  well  and  worthily,  and  thereby  maintain  themselves.  There- 
fore I  say  that  every  thoughtful  statesman  will  look  with  satisfaction 
upon  such  business  colleges  as  are  opening  a  career  for  our  young 
women.  On  that  score  we  have  special  reason  to  he  thankful  for 
the  establishment  of  these  institutions. 


270     GARFIELD  A8  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 
BANK-NOTES   AND   GREENBACKS. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  7,  1870.] 

IN  the  first  place,  it  is  the  experience  of  all  nations,  and  it  is  the 
almost  unanimous  opinion  of  all  eminent  statesmen  and  financial 
writers,  that  no  nation  can  safely  undertake  to  supply  its  people  with  a 
naper  currency  issued  directly  by  the  government.  And,  to  apply 
that  principle  to  our  own  country,  let  me  ask  if  gentlemen  think  it 
safe  to  subject  any  poliucal  party  who  may  be  in  power  in  this  gov- 
ernment to  the  great  temptation  of  overissues  of  paper  money  in  lieu 
of  taxation  ?  In  times  of  high  political  excitement,  and  on  the  eve 
of  a  general  election,  when  there  might  be  a  deficiency  in  the  rev- 
enues of  the  country,  and  Congress  should  find  it  necessary  to  levy 
additional  taxes,  the  temptation  would  be  overwhelming  to  supply 
the  deficit  by  an  increased  issue  of  paper  money.  Thus  the  whole 
business  of  the  country,  the  value  of  all  contracts,  the  prices  of  all 
commodities,  the  wages  of  labor,  would  depend  upon  a  vote  in 
Congress.  For  one,  I  dare  not  trust  the  great  industrial  interests 
of  this  country  to  such  uncertain  and  hazardous  chances. 

But  even  if  Congress  and  the  administration  should  be  always 
superior  to  such  political  temptations,  still  I  affirm,  in  the  second 
place,  that  no  human  legislature  is  wise  enough  to  determine  how 
much  currency  the  wants  of  this  country  require.  Test  it  in  this 
House  to-day.  Let  every  member  mark  down  the  amount  which 
he  believes  the  business  of  the  country  requires,  and  who  does  not 
know  that  the  amounts  will  vary  by  hundreds  of  millions  ? 

But  a  third  objection,  stronger  even  than  the  last,  is  this  :  that 
such  a  currency  possesses  no  power  of  adapting  itself  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  country.  Suppose  the  total  issues  should  be  five  hun- 
dred millions,  or  seven  hundred  millons,  or  any  amount  you  please  ; 
it  might  be  abundant  for  spring  and  summer,  and  yet  when  the 
great  body  of  agricultural  products  were  moving  off  to  market  in 
the  fall  that  amount  might  be  totally  insufficient.  Fix  any  volume 
you  please,  and  if  it  be  just  sufficient  at  one  period  it  may  be  re- 
dundant at  another,  or  insufficient  at  another.  No  currency  can 
meet  the  wants  of  this  country  unless  it  is  founded  directly  upon 
the  demands  of  business,  and  not  upon  the  caprice,  the  ignorance, 
the  political  selfishness  of  the  party  in  power. 

What  regulates  now  the  loans  and  discounts  and  credits  of  our 
national  banks  ?  The  business  of  the  country.  The  amount  in- 
creases or  decreases,  or  remains  stationary,  as  business  is  fluctuat- 
ing or  steady.  This  is  a  natural  form  of  exchange,  based  upon  the 
business  of  the  country  and  regulated  by  its  changes.  And  when 
that  happy  day  arrives  when  the  whole  volume  of  our  currency  is 
icJcernable  in  gold  at  the  will  of  the  holder,  and  recognized  by  all 


&ARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AftD   ORATOR.    Wl 

nations  as  equal  to  money,  then  the  whole  business  of  banking,  the 
whole  volume  of  currency,  the  whole  amount  of  credits,  whether  in 
the  form  of  checks,  drafts,  or  bills,  will  be  regulated  by  the  same  gen- 
eral law,  the  business  of  the  country.  The  business  of  the  country 
is  like  the  level  of  the  ocean,  from  which  all  measurements  are 
made  of  heights  and  depths.  Though  tides  and  currents  may  for  a 
time  disturb,  and  tempests  vex  and  toss  its  surface,  still,  through 
calm  and  storm  the  grand  level  rules  all  its  waves  and  lays  its  meas- 
uring-lines on  every  shore.  So  the  business  of  the  country,  which, 
in  the  aggregated  demands  of  the  people  for  exchange  of  values, 
marks  the  ebb  and  flow,  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  currents  of  trade, 
and  forms  the  base  line  from  which  to  measure  all  our  financial  leg- 
islation, is  the  only  safe  rule  by  which  the  volume  of  our  cur- 
rency can  be  determined. 


A  NON-EXPORTABLE  CURRENCY. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  15,  1870.] 

COULD  anything  but  a  predetermined  purpose  to  defend,  main- 
tain, and  increase  our  irredeemable  paper  money  lead  so  able  and 
distinguished  a  statesman  as  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
[Mr.  Kelley]  to  say,  as  he  did  the  other  day,  concerning  the  green- 
back currency  : 

"  Beyond  the  sea,  in  foreign  lands,  it  fortunately  is  not  money  ; 
but,  sir,  when  have  we  had  such  a  long  and  unbroken  career  of 
prosperity  in  business  as  since  we  adopted  this  non-exportable  cur- 
rency ?" 

It  is  reported  of  an  Englishman  who  was  wrecked  on  a  strange 
shore  that,  wandering  along  the  coast,  he  came  to  a  gallows  with 
a  victim  hanging  upon  it,  and  that  he  fell  down  on  his  knees  and 
thanked  God  that  he  at  last  beheld  a  sign  of  civilization.  But  this 
is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  a  financial  philosopher  express  his  grati- 
tude that  we  have  a  currency  of  such  bad  repute  that  other  nations 
will  not  receive  it  ;  he  is  thankful  that  it  is  not  exportable.  We 
have  a  great  many  commodities  in  such  a  condition,  that  they  are 
not  exportable.  Mouldy  flour,  rusty  wheat,  rancid  butter,  damaged 
cotton,  addled  eggs,  and  spoiled  goods  generally  are  not  export- 
able. But  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  be  thankful  for  this  putres- 
cence. It  is  related  in  a  quaint  German  book  of  humor,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Schildeberg,  finding  that  other  towns,  with  more  pub- 
lic spirit  than  their  own,  had  erected  gibbets  within  their  precincts, 
resolved  that  the  town  of  Schildeberg  should  also  have  a  gallows  , 
and  one  patriotic  member  of  the  town  council  offered  a  resolution 


272     QARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 

that  the  benefits  of  this  gallows  should  be  reserved  exclusively  for 
the  inhabitants  of  Schildeberg. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  would  reserve  for  our  exclu- 
sive benefit  all  the  blessings  of  a  fluctuating,  uncertain,  and  dishon- 
ored paper  currency.  In  his  view  this  irredeemable,  non-exportable 
currency  is  so  full  of  virtue  that  for  the  want  of  it  California  is 
falling  into  decay.  That  misguided  State  has  seen  fit  to  cling  to 
the  money  that  all  nations  receive,  and  ruin  impends  over  her 
golden  shores.  I  doubt  if  the  business  men  of  California  will  ask 
my  friend  to  prescribe  for  their  financial  maladies.  Quite  in  keep- 
ing with  the  gentleman's  other  opinions  on  this  subject  is  the  fol- 
lowing. He  says  "  the  volume  of  currency  does  not,  as  has  often 
been  asserted,  regulate  the  price  of  commodities."  According  to 
this  we  have  not  only  a  non- exportable  currency,  but  one  regulated 
by  some  trick  of  magic,  so  as  to  defy  the  universal  laws  of  value, 
of  supply  and  demand,  and  that  neither  the  increase  or  decrease  of 
its  volume  can  affect  the  price  of  commodities.  Argument  on  such 
a  doctrine  is  useless. 


A   FIXED   STANDARD  OF  VALUE. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  8,  1874.  ]   . 

WITH  what  care  has  our  government  protected  its  standards  ! 
The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Butler]  sneeringly  asked, 
Why  does  not  some  one  argue  in  favor  of  redeeming  the  yard -stick, 
the  quart-pot,  or  the  Fairbanks  scales  ?  In  that  paragraph  he  uses 
words  without  significance.  We  do  not  redeem  these  standards,  but 
we  do  in  regard  to  them  what  is  analogous  to  the  redemption  of  our 
standard  of  value.  Our  yard-stick  is  a  metallic  bar  copied  from  the 
standard  yard  of  England,  which  is  nearly  three  hundred  years  old. 
It  is  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  Coast  Survey,  and  is  sacredly 
guarded  from  diminution  or  injury.  The  best  efforts  of  science 
have  been  brought  to  bear  to  make  the  yard-stick  as  little  liable  as 
possible  to  mutilation  or  change. 

Two  methods  have  been  adopted  by  science  to  test  the  accuracy 
of  the  standard  and  preserve  it  from  loss.  One  is  to  find  a  pendu- 
lum which,  swinging  in  vacua,  will  make  one  vibration  a  second,  at 
a  given  altitude  from  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  the  other  was  a  method 
adopted  by  France,  when  in  the  last  century  she  sent  her  surveyors 
to  measure  six  hundred  miles  of  a  meridian  line,  from  Dunkirk  to 
Barcelona.  Thus  she  made  her  metre  a  given  aliquot  part  of  the 
earth's  circumference,  so  that  should  her  standard  be  lost  the  meas- 
ure of  the  globe  itself  would  furnish  the  means  of  restoring  it.  Both 
these  standards  are  deposited  in  the  Coast  Survey,  and  together 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR.    273 

with  the  standard  measures  of  capacity  are  furnished  to  the  several 
States  as  the  standards  to  which  all  our  State  and  municipal  laws 
refer.  Every  contract  for  the  sale  and  delivery  of  anything  that  can 
be  weighed  or  measured  is  based  upon  these  standards,  and  the 
citizen  who  changes  the  weight  or  the  measurement  commits  a  mis 
demeanor  for  which  he  is  punished  by  the  law.  The  false  weight 
and  balance  are  still  an  abomination. 

Sir,  we  do  not  redeem  our  yard-stick  ;  but  we  preserve  it,  and  by 
the  solemn  sanctions  of  the  law  demand  that  it  shall  be  applied  to 
all  transactions  where  extension  is  an  element.  Let  us  with  equal 
care  restore  and  preserve  our  standard  of  value,  which  must  be 
applied  to  every  exchange  of  property  between  man  and  man.  An 
uncertain  and  fluctuating  standard  is  an  evil  whose  magnitude  is 
too  vast  for  measurement. 


THE  BATTLE   OF   HISTORY. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  August  4,  1876.] 

PEACE  from  the  shock  of  battle  ;  the  higher  peace  of  our  streets, 
of  our  homes,  of  our  equal  rights,  we  must  make  secure  by  making 
the  conquering  ideas  of  the  war  everywhere  dominant  and  perma- 
nent. With  all  my  heart  I  join  with  the  gentleman  in  rejoicing  that 
the  war-drums  throb  no  longer  and  the  battle-flags  are  furled  ;  and 
I  look  forward  with  joy  and  hope  to  the  day  when  our  brave  people, 
one  in  heart,  one  in  their  aspirations  for  freedom  and  peace,  shall 
see  that  the  darkness  through  which  we  have  passed  was  a  part  of 
that  stern  but  beneficent  discipline  by  which  the  Great  Disposer  of 
events  has  been  leading  us  on  to  a  higher  and  nobler  national  life. 

But  such  a  result  can  be  reached  only  by  comprehending  the 
whole  meaning  of  the  revolution  through  which  we  have  passed 
and  are  still  passing.  I  say  still  passing  ;  for  I  remember  that  after 
the  battle  of  arms  comes  the  battle  of  history.  The  cause  that  tri- 
umphs in  the  field  does  not  always  triumph  in  history.  And  those- 
who  carried  the  war  for  union  and  equal  and  universal  freedom  to 
a  victorious  issue  can  never  safely  relax  their  vigilance  until  the 
ideas  for  which  they  fought  have  become  embodied  in  the  enduring 
forms  of  individual  and  national  life. 

Has  this  been  done  ?  Not  yet.  I  ask  the  gentleman,  in  all  plain- 
ness of  speech,  and  yet  in  all  kindness,  Is  he  correct  in  his  statement 
that  the  conquered  party  accept  the  results  of  the  war  ?  Even  if 
they  do,  I  remind  the  gentleman  that  accept  is  not  a  very  strong 
word.  I  go  further  :  I  ask  him  if  the  Democratic  party  have  adopt, ,/ 
the  results  of  the  war  ?  Is  it  not  asking  too  much  of  human  nature 
to  expect  such  unparalleled  changes  to  be  not  only  accepted,  bi:t 


274    GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR. 

in  so  short  a  time  adopted  by  men  of  strong  and  independent  opin 
ions  ?     The  antagonisms  which  gave  rise  to  the  war  and  grew  out 
of  it  were  not  born  in  a  day,  nor  can  they  vanish  in  a  night. 


THE  EVIL  GENIUS  OF  THE  SOUTH. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  August  4,  1876.] 

I  HOPE  my  public  life  has  given  proof  that  I  do  not  cherish  a  spirit 
of  malice  or  bitterness  toward  the  South.  Perhaps  they  will  say  I 
have  no  right  to  advise  them  ;  but  at  the  risk  of  being  considered 
impertinent  I  will  express  my  conviction  that  the  bane  oi  the  South- 
ern people,  for  the  last  twenty- five  years,  has  been  that  they  have 
trusted  the  advice  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  very  remedy 
which  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi  offers  for  the  ills  of  his  peo- 
ple has  been  and  still  is  their  bane.  The  Democratic  party  has 
been  the  evil  genius  of  the  South  in  all  these  years.  They  yielded 
their  own  consciences  to  you  on  the  slavery  question,  and  led  you 
to  believe  that  the  North  would  always  yield.  They  made  you 
believe  that  if  we  ever  dared  to  cross  the  Potomac  or  Ohio  to  put 
down  your  rebellion,  we  could  only  do  so  across  the  dead  bodies 
of  many  hundred  thousands  of  Northern  Democrats.  They  made 
you  believe  that  the  war  would  begin  in  the  streets  of  our  Northern 
cities  ;  that  we  were  a  community  of  shopkeepers,  of  sordid  money- 
getters,  and  would  not  stand  against  your  fiery  chivalry.  You 
thought  us  cold,  slow,  lethargic  ;  and  in  some  respects  we  are. 
There  are  some  differences  between  us  that  spring  from  origin  and 
influences  of  climate — differences  not  unlike  the  description  of  the 
poet,  that 

"  Bright  and  fierce  and  fickle  is  the  South, 

And  dark  and  true  and  tender  is  the  North" — 

differences  that  kept  us  from  a  good  understanding. 

You  thought  that  our  coldness,  our  slowness,  indicated  a  lack  of 
spirit  and  of  patriotism,  and  you  were  encouraged  in  that  belief  by 
most  of  the  Northern  Democracy  ;  but  not  by  all.  They  warned 
you  at  Charleston  in  1860. 

And  when  the  great  hour  struck  there  were  many  noble  Demo- 
crats in  the  North  who  lifted  the  flag  of  the  Union  far  above  the  flag 
of  party  ;  but  there  was  a  residuum  of  Democracy,  called  in  the 
slang  of  the  time  "  copperheads,"  who  were  your  evil  genius  from 
the  beginning  of  the  war  till  its  close,  and  ever  since.  Some  of 
them  sat  in  these  seats,  and  never  rejoiced  when  we  won  a  victory, 
and  never  grieved  when  we  lost  one.  They  were  the  men  who  sent 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.    ^',j 

your  Vallandigharns  to  give  counsel  and  encouragement  to  your  re- 
bellion, and  to  buoy  you  up  with  the  false  hope  that  at  last  you  would 
conquer  by  the  aid  of  their  treachery.  I  honor  you,  gentlemen  of 
the  South,  ten  thousand  times  more  than  I  honor  such  Democrats  of 
the  North. 


NO   STEPS   BACKWARD. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Aug.  4,  1876.] 
I  WILL  close  by  calling  your  attention  again  to  the  great  problem 
before  us.  Over  this  vast  horizon  of  interest  North  and  South, 
above  all  party  prejudices  and  personal  wrong-doing,  above  our 
battle  hosts  and  our  victorious  cause,  above  all  that  we  hoped  for 
and  won,  or  you  hoped  for  and  lost,  is  the  grand  onward  movement 
of  the  Republic  to  perpetuate  its  glory,  to  save  liberty  alive,  to  pre- 
serve exact  and  equal  justice  to  all,  to  protect  and  foster  all  tnese 
priceless  principles,  until  they  shall  have  crystallized  into  the  form 
of  enduring  law,  and  become  inwrought  into  the  life  and  habits  of 
our  people. 

And  until  these  great  results  are  accomplished  it  is  not  safe  to 
take  one  step  backward.  It  is  still  more  unsafe  to  trust  interests  of 
such  measureless  value  in  the  hands  of  an  organization  whose  mem- 
bers have  never  comprehended  their  epoch,  have  never  been  in 
sympathy  with  its  great  movements,  who  have  resisted  every  step 
of  its  progress,  and  whose  principal  function  has  been  "  To  lie 
in  cold  obstruction  "  across  the  pathway  of  the  nation.  It  is  most 
unsafe  of  all  to  trust  that  organization,  when  for  the  first  time 
since  the  war  it  puts  forward  for  the  first  and  second  place 
of  honor  and  command  men  who  in  our  days  of  greatest  danger 
esteemed  party  above  country,  and  felt  not  one  throb  of  patriotic 
ardor  for  the  triumph  of  imperilled  Union,  but  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  hated  the  war  and  hated  those  who  carried  our  eagles  to 
victory.  No,  no.  gentlemen  ;  our  enlightened  and  patriotic  people 
will  not  follow  such  leaders  in  the  rearward  march.  Their  myriad 
faces  are  turned  the  other  way,  and  along  their  serried  lines  still 
rings  the  cheering  cry,  "  Forward  !  till  our  great  work  is  fully  and 
worthily  accomplished." 


REBELLION   IN   THE   REAR. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Jan.  12,  1876.] 
AND  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  close  as   I  began.     Toward  those  men 
who  gallantly  fought  on  the  field   I  cherish  the  kindest  feeling.      I 
feel  a  sincere  reverence  for  the  soldierly  qualities  they  displayed  on 


2i<;     GARFIELD   AS  STATESMAN  A.\D   ORATOR. 

many  a  well-fought  battle-field.  I  hope  the  day  will  come  when 
their  swords  and  ours  will  be  crossed  over  many  a  doorway  of  our 
children,  who  will  remember  the  glory  of  their  ancestors  with  pride. 
The  high  qualities  displayed  in  that  conflict  now  belong  to  the 
whole  nation.  Let  them  be  consecrated  to  the  Union  and  its  future 
peace  and  glory.  I  shall  hail  that  consecration  as  a  pledge  and 
symbol  of  our  perpetuity. 

But  there  is  a  class  of  men  referred  to  in  the  speech  of  the  gentle- 
man yesterday,  for  whom  I  have  never  yet  gained  the  Christian  grace 
necessary  to  say  the  same  thing.  The  gentleman  said  that  amid 
the  thunder  of  battle,  through  its  dim  smoke  and  above  its  roar, 
they  heard  a  voice  from  this  side,  saying,  "  Brothers,  come."  I  do 
not  know  whether  he  meant  the  same  thing,  but  I  heard  that  voice 
behind  us.  I  heard  that  voice,  and  I  recollect  that  I  sent  one  of 
those  who  uttered  it  through  our  lines — a  voice  owned  by  Vallan- 
digham.  General  Scott  said,  in  the  early  days  of  the  war,  "  When 
this  war  is  over,  it  will  require  all  the  physical  and  moral  power  of 
the  Government  to  restrain  the  rage  and  fury  of  the  non-combatants." 

It  was  that  non-combatant  voice  behind  us  that  cried  "  Halloo  ?" 
to  the  other  side  ;  that  always  gave  cheer  and  encouragement  to  the 
enemy  in  our  hour  of  darkness.  I  have  never  forgotten  and 
have  not  yet  forgiven  those  Democrats  of  the  North  whose  hearts 
were  not  warmed  by  the  grand  inspirations  of  the  Union,  but  who 
Mood  back  finding  fault,  always  crying  disaster,  rejoicing  at  our 
defeat,  never  glorying  in  our  victory.  If  these  are  the  voices  the 
gentleman  heard,  I  am  sorry  he  is  now  united  with  those  who 
uttered  them.  But  to  those  most  noble  men,  Democrats  and  Repub- 
licans, who  together  fought  for  the  Union,  I  commend  all  the  les- 
sons of  charity  that  the  wisest  and  most  beneficent  men  have  (aught. 
I  join  you  all  in  every  aspiration  that  you  may  express  to  stay  in 
this  Union,  to  heal  its  wounds,  to  increase  its  glory,  and  to  forget 
the  evils  and  the  bitternesses  of  the  past  ;  but  du  not  for  the  sake  of 
the  three  hundred  thousand  heroic  men  who,  maimed  and  bruised, 
drag  out  their  weary  lives,  many  of  them  carrying  in  their  hearts 
horrible  memories  of  what  they  suffered  in  the  prison-pen — do  not 
ask  us  to  vote  to  put  back  into  power  that  man  who  was  the  cause 
of  their  suffering — that  man  still  unaneled,  unshrived,  unforgiven, 
undefended. 


POPULAR   SUFFRAGE   MADE    SAFE   BY   EDUCATION. 

[From   an   Address   on   the   Future   of  the  Republic,   delivered   before    the   Literary 
Societies  of  Hudson  College.] 

WE  are  apt  to  be  deluded  into  false  security  by  political  catch- 
words,  devised  to   natter  rather  than  instruct.     We  have  happily 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.    277 

escaped  the  dogma  of  the  divine  right  of  kings.  Let  us  not  fall  into 
the  equally  pernicious  error  that  multitude  is  divine  because  it  is 
a  multitude.  The  words  of  our  great  publicist,  the  late  Dr.  Lieber, 
whose  faitb  in  republican  liberty  was  undoubted,  should  never  be 
forgotten.  In  discussing  the  doctrine  of  "  Vox populi,  vox  Dei,'" 
he  said  : 

"  Woe  to  the  country  in  which  political  hypocrisy  first  calls  the 
people  almighty,  then  teaches  that  the  voice  of  the  people  is  divine, 
then  pretends  to  take  a  mere  clamor  for  the  true  voice  of  the  people, 
and  lastly,  gets  up  the  desired  clamor." 

This  sentence  ought  to  be  read  in  every  political  caucus.  It 
would  make  an  interesting  and  significant  preamble  to  most  of  our 
political  platforms.  It  is  only  when  the  people  speak  truth  and 
justice  that  their  voice  can  be  called  '  the  voice  of  God."  Our 
faith  in  the  democratic  principle  rests  upon  the  belief  that  intelli- 
gent men  will  sec  that  their  highest  political  good  is  in  liberty, 
regulated  by  just  and  equal  laws  ;  and  that  in  the  distribution  of 
political  power  it  is  safe  to  follow  the  maxim,  "  Each  for  all.  and  all 
for  each."  We  confront  the  dangers  of  the  suffrage  by  the  bless- 
ings of  universal  education.  We  believe  that  the  strength  of  the 
state  is  the  aggregate  strength  of  its  individual  citizens  ;  and  that 
the  suffrage  is  the  link,  that  binds  in  a  bond  of  mutual  interest  and 
responsibility,  the  fortunes  of  the  citizen  to  the  fortunes  of  the  state. 
Hence,  as  popular  suffrage  is  the  broadest  base  ;  so,  when  coupled 
with  intelligence  and  virtue  it  becomes  the  strongest,  the  most  en- 
during base  on  which  to  build  the  superstructure  of  government. 


THE    DEMOCRACY    CONVICTED    OF    A   REVOLUTIONARY 
PURPOSE. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  26,  1879.] 

GENTLEMEN,  I  took  upon  myself  a  very  grave  responsibility  in 
the  opening  of  this  debate  when  I  quoted  the  declarations  of  lead- 
ing members  on  the  other  side  and  said  that  the  programme  was 
revolution  and,  if  not  abandoned,  would  result  in  the  destruction  of 
this  Government.  I  declared  that  you  had  entered  upon  a  scheme 
which  if  persisted  in  would  starve  the  Government  to  death.  I  say 
that  I  took  a  great  risk  when  I  made  this  charge  against  you,  as  a 
party.  I  put  myself  in  your  power,  gentlemen.  If  I  had  misconceived 
your  purposes  and  misrepresented  your  motives,  it  was  in  your  power 
to  prove  me  a  false  accuser.  It  was  in  your  power  to  ruin  me  in  the 
estimation  of  fair-minded,  patriotic  men,  by  the  utterance  of  one  sen- 
tence. The  humblest  or  the  greatest  of  you  could  have  over- 


278     OARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 

whelmed  me  with  shame  and  confusion  in  one  short  sentence.  You 
could  have  said,  "  We  wish  to  pass  our  measures  of  legislation  in 
reference  to  elections,  juries,  and  the  use  of  the  army  ;  and  we  will, 
if  we  can  do  so  constitutionally  ;  but  if  we  cannot  get  these  meas- 
ures in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  we  will  pass  the  appropri- 
ation bills  like,  loyal  representatives  ;  and  then  go  home  and  appeal 
to  the  people." 

If  any  man,  speaking  for  the  majority,  had  made  that  declaration, 
uttered  that  sentence,  he  would  have  ruined  me  in  the  estimation  of 
fair-minded  men,  and  set  me  down  as  a  false  accuser  and  slanderer. 
Forty-five  of  you  have  spoken.  Forty-five  of  you  have  deluged  the 
ear  of  (his  country  with  defeat  ;  but  that  sentence  has  not  been 
spoken  by  any  one  of  you.  On  the  contrary,  by  your  silence,  as 
well  as  by  your  affirmation,  you  have  made  my  accusation  over- 
whelmingly true. 


A   PARTY  OF   POSITIVE   IDEAS. 

[From  a  Debate  with  Geo.  H.  Pendleton,  at  Springfield,  Ohio,  Sept.  27,  1877.] 

AND  now,  in  looking  over  this  long  discussion,  let  me  say  that  the 
Republican  party,  though  it  has  made  mistakes,  has  been  a  party  of 
great  courage,  a  party  of  great  faith.  It  has  had  positive  ideas — 
ideas  it  was  willing  to  stand  up  by,  and,  if  need  be,  die  by.  It 
believed  in  the  Union  ;  it  believed  in  the  public  faith  ;  it  believed  in 
a  public  trust  ;  it  believed  in  enlarging  the  borders  of  liberty  ;  it 
believed  in  paying  the  public  obligations,  and  it  believes  now  in 
sustaining  all  it  has  so  worthily  achieved.  It  dares  appeal  to  the 
country,  as  it  is  deserving  of  the  confidence  of  the  country.  It 
dares  appeal  to  the  country  as  against  a  vacillating  and  uncertain 
and  unwise  and  in  many  cases  the  unpatriotic  spirit  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party. 


-THE   DEMOCRATIC   CREED. 

[From  a  Speech  at  London,  Ohio,  Sept.  19,  1877.] 

THERE  was  a  time  when  the  Democratic  party  was  a  party  of 
ideas.  No  party  ever  did  any  good  unless  it  was  a  party  of  ideas. 
While  it  had  ideas  the  Democratic  party  prospered.  But  twenty 
years  ago  an  explosion  occurred  in  its  camp.  From  then  until  the 
present  time  it  has  not  been  a  party  of  ideas.  For  twenty  years  it 
has  been  a  party  simply  of  opposition,  of  obstruction.  Its  creed 
may  be  summed  up  in  one  little  word  of  two  letters — No!  The 


G-ARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR.    279 

Democratic  party  for  twenty  years  has  said  no.  It  has  built  nothing, 
but  against  all  progress  it  has  pulled  back  and  snarled  its  opposition 
Xo.  The  Republican  party  is  a  party  that  builds  something  ;  it  is  a 
party  of  aggressive  ideas  ;  it  believes  in  the  Union  and  its  perpetu- 
ity ;  it  believes  in  freedom  against  slavery  ;  it  believes  in  the  equality 
of  all  against  class  ;  it  believes  in  the  public  faith,  in  the  public 
credit,  .in  the  payment  of  the  public  debt.  It  is  the  exponent  of  all 
great  national  things  that  make  our  country  respected  and  prosper- 
ous. And  to  all  this  there  has  come  one  grumbling  voice — No — from 
the  Democracy.  I  hold  myself  open  to  debate  this  assertion  with 
any  Democratic  speaker  in  Ohio.  The  Democracy  have  not  in 
twenty  years  advanced  one  great  national  idea  of  public  polity  that 
they  have  held  to  for  three  consecutive  years.  Like  an  army  build- 
ing a  bridge  and  burning  each  span  behind  it,  they  have  builded 
and  burned  until  at  last  they  stand  out  isolated  in  the  swamp, 
unable  to  get  to  either  shore. 


THE   SAVINGS   OF   THE   PEOPLE. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Nov.  16,  1877.] 

GENTLEMEN  assail  the  bondholders  of  the  country  as  the  rich 
men  who  oppress  the  poor.  Do  they  know  how  vast  an  amount  of 
the  public  securities  are  held  by  poor  people  ?  I  took  occasion,  a 
few  years  since,  to  ask  the  officers  of  a  bank  in  one  of  the  counties 
of  my  district- — a  rural  district — to  show  me  the  number  of  holders 
and  amounts  held  of  United  States  bonds  on  which  they  collected 
the  interest.  The  total  amount  was  $416,000.  •  And  how  many 
people  held  them  ?  One  hundred  and  ninety  six.  Of  these,  just 
eig'it  men  held  from  $15,000  to  $20,000  each  ;  the  other  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-eight  ranged  from  $50  up  to  $2500.  1  found  in  that 
list,  fifteen  orphan  children  and  sixty  widows,  who  had  a  little  left 
them  from  their  fathers'  or  husbands'  estates,  and  had  made  the 
nation  their  guardian.  And  I  found  one  hundred  and  twenty-one 
laborers,  mechanics,  ministers,  men  of  slender  means,  who  had 
saved  their  earnings  and  put  them  in  the  hands  of  the  United  States 
that  they  might  be  safe.  And  they  were  the  bloated  "bondhold- 
ers," against  whom  so  much  eloquence  is  fulminated  in  this  House. 
There  is  another  way  in  which  poor  men  dispose  of  their  money. 
A  man  says,  I  can  keep  my  wife  and  babies  from  starving  while  I 
live  and  have  my  health  ;  but  if  I  die  they  may  be  compelled  to  go  • 
over  the  hill  to  the  poorhouse  ;  and,  agonized  by  that  thought,  he 
saves  of  his  hard  earnings  enough  to  take  out  and  keep  alive  a  small 
life-insurance  policy,  so  that,  if  he  dies,  there  may  be  something 
I'.'ft,  provided  the  insurance  company  to  which  he  intrusts  his  money 


260     GARFTELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 

is  honest  enough  to  keep  its  pledges.  And  how  many  men  do  you 
ihink  have  done  that  in  the  United  States?  I  do  not  know  the 
number  for  the  whole  country  ;  but  1  do  know  this,  that  from  a 
late  report  of  the  insurance  commissioners  of  the  State  of  New 
York  it.  appears  that  the  companies  doing  business  in  that  State 
had  774,625  policies  in  force,  and  the  face  value  of  these  policies  was 
$1,922,000,000.  I  find,  by  looking  over  the  returns,  that  in  my  State 
there  are  55,000  policies  outstanding  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  74,000  ;  in 
Maine,  17,000  ;  in  Maryland,  25,000,  and  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
160,000.  There  are,  of  course,  some  rich  men  insured  in  these  com- 
panies, but  the  majority  are  poor  people,  for  the  policies  do  not 
average  more  than  $2200  each.  What  is  done  with  the  assets  of 
these  companies,  which  amount  to  $445,000,000?  They  are  loaned 
out.  Here  again  the  creditor  class  is  the  poor,  and  the  insurance 
companies  are  the  agents  of  the  poor  to  lend  their  money  for  them. 
It  would  be  dishonorable  for  Congress  to  legislate  either  for  the 
debtor  class  or  for  the  creditor  class  alone.  We  ought  to  legislate 
for  the  whole  country.  But  when  gentlemen  attempt  to  manufacture 
sentiment  against  the  Resumption  act,  by  saying  it  will-help  the  rich 
and  hurt  the  poor,  they  are  overwhelmingly  answered  by  the  facts. 
Suppose  you  undo  the  work  that  Congress  has  attempted — to 
resume  specie  payment — what  will  result?  You  will  depreciate  the 
value  of  the  greenback.  Suppose  it  falls  ten  cents  on  the  dollar. 
You  will  have  destroyed  ten  per  cent  of  the  value  of  every  deposit 
in  the  savings-banks,  ten  per  cent  of  every  life-insurance  policy  and 
fire-insurance  policy,  of  every  pension  to  the  soldier,  and  of  every 
day's  wages  of  every  laborer  in  the  nation. 


THE   DEMOCRATIC   PROGRAMME   OF    COERCING    THE 
PRESIDENT. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  29,  1879  ] 

OUR  theory  of  law  is  free  consent.  That  is  the  granite  founda- 
tion of  our  whole  superstructure.  Nothing  in  this  Republic  can  be 
law  without  consent — the  free  consent  of  the  House,  the  free  con- 
sent of  the  Senate,  the  free  consent  of  the  Executive,  or,  if  he  refuse 
it,  the  free  consent  of  two  thirds  of  these  bodies.  Will  any  man 
deny  that  ?  Will  any  man  challenge  a  line  of  the  statement  that 
free  consent  is  the  foundation  of  all  our  institutions  ?  And  yet  the 
programme  announced  two  weeks  ago  was  that,  if  the  Senate  re- 
fused to  consent  to  the  demand  of  the  House,  the  Government  should 
stop.  And  the  proposition  \vas  then,  and  the  programme  is  now, 


GAEFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.    281 

that,  although  there  is  not  a  Senate  to  be  coerced,  there  is  still  a 
third  independent  branch  in  the  legislative  power  of  the  Government 
whose  consent  is  to  be  coerced  at  the  peril  of  the  destruction  of 
this  Government  ;  that  is,  if  the  President,  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duty,  shall  exercise  his  plain  constitutional  right  to  refuse  his  con 
sent  to  this  proposed  legislation,  the  Congress  will  so  use  its  volun- 
tary powers  as  to  destroy  the  Government.  This  is  the  proposition 
which  we  confront  ;  and  we  denounce  it  as  revolution. 

It  makes  no  difference,  Mr.  Chairman,  what  the  issue  is.  If  it 
were  the  simplest  and  most  inoffensive  proposition  in  the  world, 
yet  if  you  demand,  as  a  measure  of  coercion,  that  it  shall  be  adopted 
against  the  free  consent  prescribed  in  the  Conslitution,  every  fair- 
minded  man  in  America  is  bound  to  resist  you  as  much  as  though 
his  own  life  depended  upon  his  resistance. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  I  am  not  arguing  the  merits  of  any  one 
of  the  three  amendments.  I  am  discussing  the  proposed  method  of 
legislation  ;  and  I  declare  that  it  is  against  the  Constitution  of  our 
country.  It  is  revolutionary  to  the  core,  and  is  destructive  of  the 
fundamental  principle  of  American  liberty,  the  free  consent  of  all 
the  powers  that  unite  to  make  laws. 

In  opening  this  debate  I  challenge  all  comers  to  show  a  single 
instance  in  our  history  where  this  consent  has  been  thus  coerced. 
This  is  the  great,  the  paramount  issue  which  dwarfs  all  others  into 
insignificance. 


EFFECTS  OF   RESUMPTION. 

[From  an  Address  in  Chicago,  Jan.  2,  1879.] 

SUCCESSFUL  resumption  will  greatly  aid  in  bringing  into  the 
murky  sky  of  our  politics  what  the  signal  service  people  call 
"clearing  weather."  It  puts  an  end  to  a  score  of  controversies 
which  have  long  vexed  the  public  mind,  and  wrought  mischief  to 
business.  It  ends  the  angry  contention  over  the  difference  between 
the  money  of  the  bondholder  and  the  money  of  the  plough-holder. 
It  relieves  enterprising  Congressmen  of  the  necessity  of  introducin- 
twenty-five  or  thirty  bills  a  session  to  furnish  the  people  with  cheap 
money,  to  prevent  gold-gambling,  and  to  make  custom  duties  pay- 
able in  greenbacks.  It  will  dismiss  to  the  limbo  of  things  forgotten 
such  Utopian  schemes  as  a  currency  based  upon  the  magic  circle  of 
interconvertibility  of  two  different  forms  of  irredeemable  paper, 
and  the  schemes  of  a  currency  "based  on  the  public  faith,"  and 
Secured  by  "  all  the  resources  of  the  nation"  in  genera!,  but  upon 
no  particular  part  of  them.  We  shall  still  hear  echoes  of  the  ull 
conflict,  such  as  "  the  barbarism  and  cowardice  of  gold  and  sUv-  r  " 


282     QARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 

and  the  virtues  of  "  fiat  money  ;"  but  the  theories  which  gave  them 
birth  will  linger  among  us  like  belated  ghosts,  and  soon  find  rest  in 
the  political  grave  of  dead  issues.  All  these  will  take  their  places 
in  history  alongside  of  the  resolution  of  Vansittart,  in  1811,  that 
"  British  paper  had  not  fallen,  but  gold  had  risen  in  value,"  and  the 
declaration  of  Castlereagh,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  "  the 
money  standard  is  a  sense  of  value  in  reference  to  currency  as 
compared  with  commodities,"  and  the  opinion  of  another  member, 
who  declared  that  "the  standard  is  neither  gold  nor  silver,  butsome- 
thing  set  rip  in  the  imagination  to  be  regulated  by  public  opinion." 

When  we  have  fully  awakened  from  these  vague  dreams,  public 
opinion  will  resume  its  old  channels,  and  the  wisdom  and  experi- 
ence of  the  fathers  of  our  Constitution  will  again  be  acknowledged 
and  followed, 

We  shall  agree,  as  our  fathers  did,  that  the  yard-stick  shall  have 
length,  the  pound  must  have  weight,  and  the  dollar  must  have  value 
in  itself,  and  that  neither  length,  nor  weight,  nor  value  can  be 
created  by  the  fiat  of  law.  Congress,  relieved  of  the  arduous  task 
of  regulating  and  managing  all  the  business  of  our  people,  will 
address  itself  to  the  humbler  but  more  important  work  of  preserv- 
ing the  public  peace,  and  managing  wisely  the  revenues  and  ex- 
penditures of  the  Government.  Industry  will  no  longer  wait  for 
the  legislature  to  discover  easy  roads  to  sudden  wealth,  but.  will 
begin  again  to  rely  upon  labor  and  frugality  as  the  only  certain  road 
to  riches.  Prosperity,  which  has  long  been  waiting,  is  now  ready 
to  come.  If  we  do  not  rudely  repulse  her  she  will  soon  revisit  our 
people,  and  will  stay  until  another  periodical  craze  shall  drive  her 
away. 


THE   ABSURDITY  OF  FIAT  MONEY. 

[From  a  Speech  at  Flint,  Michigan,  Oct.  22,  1878.] 

Now,  fellow-citizens,  to  sum  up  all  I  have  tried  to  say  thus  far, 
when  you  can  have  more  cloth  by  shortening  your  yard-stick  ;  when 
you  can  have  more  wheat  by  reducing  the  size  of  your  bushel  ;  when 
you  can  have  more  land  by  changing  the  figures  of  your  deed,  and 
having  it  read  "  200"  where  it  read  "  too  ;"  when  your  dairyman 
can  make  more  butter  and  cheese  by  watering  his  milk — then,  and 
not  till  then,  can  you  make  wealth  in  this  country  by  printing  pieces 
of  paper  and  calling  them  dollars.  Why,  I  met  a  gentleman  on  your 
streets  to-day,  a  man  hardly  past  middle  age.  that  told  me  he  was 
here  when  there  were  but  two  log-cabins  in  this  place.  And  I  say 
that  this  beautiful  city,  with  its  beautiful  gardens  and  its  circling 
river,  with  its  homes  and  happiness — I  say  that  all  that  has  been  done 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.    283 

here  since  the  time  that  man  first  came,  has  hoen  done  by  the  hard 
struggling  and  earnest  toil  of  courageous  men,  who  have  for  a  gen- 
eration back  battled  with  the  wilderness  and  brought  it  up  to  the 
glory  of  to-day.  Well,  friends,  what  fools  these  people  were,  to 
speak  plainly,  to  have  endured  so  much  when  they  might  have  set 
up  a  printing-press  and  just  printed  themselves  rich,  if  this  idea  of 
fiat  money  be  true.  Why,  fellow-citizens,  do  you  really  believe 
(hat  if  we  should  in  Washington  print  pieces  of  paper  saying,  "  This 
is  1,000,000,"  and  send  one  to  each  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the 
United  States,  that  we  should  all  in  fact  be  millionaries  the  next 
morning  ?  Now  does  anybody  believe  that  ?  It  is  the  wildest  hal- 
lucination that  ever  struck  upon  a  people.  It  is  wholly  wild,  and 
wholly  without  foundation. 


A  REPLY  TO  THE  DEMOCRATIC  THREAT  TO  DESTROY 
THE  ARMY. 

[Remarks  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  4,  1879.] 

I  SAY,  if  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  puts  that  proposition  before 
the  American  people,  we  will  debate  it  in  the  forum  of  every  patriotic 
heart,  and  will  abide  the  result.  If  the  party  which,  after  eighteen 
years'  banishment  from  power,  has  come  back,  as  the  gentleman 
from  Kentucky  [Mr.  Blackburn]  said  yesterday,  to  its  "  birthright 
of  power,"  or  "  heritage,"  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  record  of  this 
morning,  is  to  signalize  its  return  by  striking  down  the  gallant  and 
faithful  army  of  the  United  States,  the  people  of  this  country  will 
not  be  slow  to  understand  that  there  are  reminiscences  of  that  army 
which  these  gentlemen  would  willingly  forget,  by  burying  both  the 
army  and  the  memories  of  its  great  service  to  the  Union  in  one 
grave. 

We  do  not  seek  to  revive  the  unhappy  memories  of  the  war  ;  but 
we  are  unwilling  to  see  the  army  perish  at  the  hands  of  Congress, 
even  if  its  continued  existence  should  occasionally  awaken  the 
memory  of  its  former  glories. 

Now,  let  it  be  understood,  once  for  all,  that  we  do  not  deny,  we 
have  never  denied  your  right  to  make  such  rules  for  this  House  as 
you  please.  Under  those  rules,  as  you  make  or  construe  them, 
you  may  put  all  your  legislation  upon  these  bills  as  "  riders."  But 
we  say  that,  whatever  your  rules  may  be,  you  must  make  or  repeal 
a  law  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution,  by  the  triple  consent  to 
which  I  referred  the  other  day,  or  you  must  do  it  by  violence. 

Now,  as  my  friend  from  Connecticut  [Mr.  Hawley]  well  said,  if 
you  can  elect  a  President  and  a  Congress  in  1880,  you  have  only  to 
wait  two  years,  and  you  have  the  three  consents.  You  can  then, 


284    GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR. 

without  revolution,  tear  down  this  statute  and  all  the  rest.  You  can 
follow  out  the  programme  which  some  of  your  members  have  sug- 
gested, and  tear  out  one  by  one  the  records  oi  the  last  eighteen 
years.  Some  of  them  are  glorious  with  the  unquenchable  light  of 
liberty  ;  some  of  them  stand  as  the  noblest  trophies  of  freedom. 
With  full  power  in  your  hands,  you  can  destroy  them.  But  we  ask 
you  to  restrain  you  rage  against  them  until  you  have  the  lawful 
power  to  smite  them  down. 


PROTECTION  OF  THE  NATIONAL  BALLOT-BOX. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  29,  1879.] 

LET  it  be  remembered  that  the  avowed  object  of  this  new  revolu- 
tion is  to  destroy  all  the  defences  which  the  nation  has  placed 
around  its  ballot-box  to  guard  the  fountain  of  its  own  life.  You  say 
that  the  United  States  shall  not  employ  even  its  civil  power  to  keep 
peace  at  the  polls.  You  say  that  the  marshals  shall  have  no  power 
either  to  arrest  rioters  or  criminals  who  seek  to  destroy  the  freedom 
and  purity  of  the  ballot-box. 

I  remind  you  that  you  have  not  always  shown  this  great  zeal  in 
keeping  the  civil  officers  of  the  General  Government  out  of  the 
States.  Only  six  years  before  the  war  your  law  authorized  marshals 
of  the  United  States  to  enter  all  our  hamlets  and  households  to  hunt 
for  fugitives  slaves.  Not  only  that,  it  empowered  the  marshals  to 
summon  the  posse  comitatus,  to  command  all  bystanders  to  join  in 
the  chase  and  aid  in  remanding  to  eternal  bondage  the  fleeing  slave. 
And  your  Democratic  Attorney-General,  in  his  opinion  published 
in  1854,  declared  that  the  marshal  of  the  United  States  might  sum- 
mon to  his  aid  the  whole  able-bodied  force  of  his  precinct,  a\\  by- 
standers, including  not  only  the  citizens  generally,  "  but  any  and 
all  organized  armed  forces,  whether  militia  of  the  State,  or  officers, 
soldiers,  sailors,  and  marines  of  the  United  States,"  to  join  in  the 
chase  and  hunt  down  the  fugitive.  Now,  gentlemen,  if,  lor  the  pur- 
pose of  making  eternal  slavery  the  lot  of  an  American,  you  could 
send  your  marshals,  summon  your  posse,  and  use  the  armed  force 
of  the  United  States,  with  what  face  or  grace  can  you  tell  us  that 
this  Government  cannot  lawfully  employ  the  same  marshals  with 
their  armed  posse  of  citizens,  to  maintain  the  purity  of  our  own  elec- 
tions and  keep  the  peace  at  our  own  polls.  You  have  made  the 
issue  and  we  have  accepted  it.  In  the  name  of  the  Constitution  and 
on  behalf  of  good  government  and  public  justice,  we  make  the 
appeal  to  our  common  sovereign. 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  A^D  ORATOR.    285 
THE   NEW   REBELLION. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  29,  1879.] 

LET  it  be  understood  that  I  am  not  discussing  the  merits  of  this 
law.  I  have  merely  turned  aside  from  the  line  of  my  argument  to 
show  the  inconsistency  of  the  other  side  in  proposing  to  stop  the 
Government  if  they  cannot  force  the  icpeal  of  a  law  which  they 
themselves  made.  I  am  discussing  a  method  of  revolution  against 
the  Constitution  now  proposed  by  this  House,  and  to  that  issue  I 
hold  gentlemen  in  this  debate,  and  challenge  them  to  reply. 

And  now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  ask  the  forbearance  of  gentlemen  on 
the  other  side  while  I  offer  a  suggestion,  which  I  make  with  reluc- 
tance. They  will  bear  me  witness  that  I  have,  in  many  ways, 
shown  my  desire  that  the  wounds  of  the  war  should  be  healed  ; 
that  the  grass  which  has  grown  green  over  the  graves  of  the  dead 
of  both  armies  might  symbolize  the  returning  spring  of  friendship 
and  peace  between  citizens  who  were  lately  in  arms  against  each 
other. 

But  I  am  compelled  by  the  conduct  of  the  other  side  to  refer  to  a 
chapter  of  our  recent  history.  The  last  act  of  Democratic  domina- 
tion in  this  Capitol,  eighteen  years  ago,  was  striking  and  dramatic, 
perhaps  heroic.  Then  the  Democratic  party  said  to  the  Republi- 
cans, "  If  you  elect  the  man  of  your  choice  as  President  of  the 
United  States  we  will  shoot  your  Government  to  death  ;"  but  the 
people  of  this  country,  refusing  to  be  coerced  by  threats  or  violence, 
voted  as  they  pleased,  and  lawfully  elected  Abraham  Lincoln  as 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Then  your  leaders,  though  holding  a  majority  in  the  other  branch 
of  Congress,  were  heroic  enough  to  withdraw  from  their  seats  and 
fling  down  the  gage  of  mortal  battle.  We  called  it  rebellion  :  but 
we  recognized  it  as  courageous  and  manly  to  avow  your  purpose, 
take  all  the  risks,  and  fight  it  out  in  the  open  field.  Notwithstand- 
ing your  utmost  efforts  to  destroy  it,  the  Government  was  saved. 
Year  by  year,  since  the  war  ended,  those  who  resisted  you  have 
come  to  believe  that  you  have  finally  renounced  your  purpose  to 
destroy,  and  are  willing  to  maintain  the  Government.  In  that  belief 
you  have  been  permitted  to  return  to  power  in  the  two  Houses. 

To-day,  after  eighteen  years  of  defeat,  the  book  of  your  domina- 
don  is  again  opened,  and  your  first  act  awakens  every  unhappy 
memory,  and  threatens  to  destroy  the  confidence  which  your  pro- 
fessions of  patriotism  inspired.  You  turned  down  a  leaf  of  the  his- 
tory that  recorded  your  last  act  of  power  in  1861,  and  you  have  now 
signalized  your  return  to  power  by  beginning  a  second  chapter  at 
the  same  page,  not  this  time  by  a  heroic  act  that  declares  war  on 
the  battle-field,  but  you  say,  if  all  the  legislative  powers  of-the  Gov- 


286     QARFIELI)  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR. 

ernment  do  not  consent  to  let  you  tear  certain  laws  out  of  the  stat- 
ute-book, you  will  not  shoot  our  Government  to  death  as  you  tried 
to  do  in  the  first  chapter,  but  you  declare  that  if  we  do  not  consent 
against  our  will,  if  you  cannot  coerce  an  independent  branch  of  this 
Government,  against  its  will  to  allow  you  to  tear  from  the  statute- 
book  some  laws  put  there  by  the  will  of  the  people,  you  will  starve 
the  Government  to  death.  [Great  applause  on  the  Republican  side.] 
Between  death  on  the  field  and  death  by  starvation  I  do  not 
know  that  the  American  people  will  see  any  great  difference.  The 
end  if  successfully  reached,  would  be  death  in  either  case.  Gentle- 
men, you  have  it  in  your  power  to  kill  this  Government  ;  you  have 
it  in  your  power,  by  withholding  these  two  bills,  to  smite  the  nerve- 
centres  of  our  Constitution  with  the  paralysis  of  death  ;  and  you 
have  declared  your  purpose  to  do  this,  if  you  cannot  break  down 
lhat  fundamental  principle  of  free  consent  which,  up  to  this  hour 
has  always  ruled  in  the  legislation  of  this  Government. 


AN  APPEAL  TO   YOUNG   MEN. 

[From  a  Speech  at  Cleveland,  on  the  Saturday  evening  before  the   Ohio   election 

of  1870.] 

Now,  fellow-citizens,  a  word  before  I  leave  you,  on  the  very  eve 
of  the  holy  day  of  God — a  fit  moment  to  consecrate  ourselves  finally 
to  the  great  work  of  next  Tuesday  morning.  I  see  in  this  great  audi- 
ence to-night  a  great  many  young  men — -young  men  who  are  about 
to  cast  their  first  vote.  I  want  to  give  you  a  word  of  suggestion 
and  advice.  I  heard  a  very  brilliant  thing  said  by  a  boy  the  other 
day,  up  in  one  of  our  northwestern  counties.  He  said  to  me, 
"  General,  I  have  a  great  mind  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket."  That 
was  not  the  brilliant  thing.  I  said  to  him,  "Why?"  "Why," 
said  he,  "  my  father  is  a  Republican,  and  my  brothers  are  Republi- 
cans, and  I  am  a  Republican  all  over  :  but  I  want  to  be  an  inde- 
pendent man,  and  I  don't  want  anybody  to  say,  '  That  fellow  votes 
the  Republican  ticket  just  because  his  dad  does,'  and  I  have  half  a 
mind  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket  just  to  prove  my  indepen- 
dence." I  did  not  like  the  thing  the  boy  suggested,  but  I  did  admire 
the  spirit  of  the  boy  that  wanted  to  have  some  independence  of  his 
own. 

Now,  I  tell  you,  young  man,  don't  vote  the  Republican  ticket 
just  because  your  father  votes  it.  Don't  vote  the  Democratic  ticket, 
even  if  he  does  vote  it.  But  let  me  give  you  this  one  word  of 
Advice,  as  you  are  about  to  pitch  your  tent  in  "one  of  the  great  po- 
litical camps.  Your  life  is  full  and  buoyant  with  hope  now,  and  I 


GARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR.    287 

beg  you,  when  you  pitch  your  tent,  pitch  it  among  the  living  and 
not  among  the  dead.  If  you  are  at  all  inclined  to  pitch  it  among 
the  Democratic  people  and  with  that  party,  let  me  go  with  you  for 
a  moment  while  we  survey  the  ground  where  I  hope  you  will  not 
shortly  lie.  It  is  a  sad  place,  young  man,  for  you  to  put  your 
young  life  into.  It  is  to  me  far  more  like  a  graveyard  than  like  a 
camp  for  the  living.  Look  at  it  !  It  is  billowed  all  over  with  the 
graves  of  dead  issues,  of  buried  opinions,  of  exploded  theories,  of 
disgraced  doctrines.  You  cannot  live  in  comfort  in  such  a  place. 
Why,  look  here  !  Here  is  a  little  double  mound.  I  look  down  on 
it  and  I  read,  "  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Squatter  Sovereignty  and 
the  Dred  Scott  Decision."  A  million  and  ahalf  of  Democrats  voted 
for  that,  but  it  has  been  dead  fifteen  years — died  by  the  hand  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  here  it  lies.  Young  man,  that  is  not  the 
place  for  you. 

But  look  a  little  further.  Here  is  another  monument,  a  black 
tomb,  and  beside  it,  as  our  distinguished  friend  said,  there  towers 
to  the  sky  a  monument  of  four  million  pairs  of  human  fetters  taken 
from  the  arms  of  slaves,  and  I  read  on  its  little  headstone  this  : 
"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Human  Slavery."  For  forty  years  of  its 
infamous  life  the  Democratic  party  taught  that  it  was  divine — God's 
institution.  They  defended  it,  they  stood  around  it,  they  followed 
it  to  its  grave  as  a  mourner.  But  here  it  lies,  dead  by  the  hand  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  ;  dead  by  the  power  of  the  Republican  party  ; 
dead  by  the  justice  of  Almighty  God.  Don't  camp  there,  young  man. 

But  here  is  another — a  little  brimstone  tomb — and  I  read  across 
its  yellow  face,  in  lurid,  bloody  lines,  these  words:  "Sacred  to 
the  memory  of  State  Sovereignty  and  Secession."  Twelve  millions 
of  Democrats  mustered  around  it  in  arms  to  keep  it  alive  ;  but  here 
it  lies,  shot  to  death  by  the  million  guns  of  the  Republic.  Here  it 
lies,  its  shrine  burned  to  ashes  under  the  blazing  rafters  of  the 
burning  Confederacy.  It  is  dead  !  I  would  not  have  you  stay  in 
there  a  minute,  even  in  this  balmy  night  air,  to  look  at  such  a  place. 

But  just  before  I  leave  't  I  discover  a  new-made  grave,  a  little 
mound — short.  The  grass  has  hardly  sprouted  over  it,  and  all 
around  I  see  torn  pieces  of  paper  with  the  word  "  fiat"  on  them, 
and  I  look  down  in  curiosity,  wondering  what  the  little  grave  is, 
and  I  read  on  it :  "  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Rag  Baby  ;" 
nursed  in  the  brain  of  all  the  fanaticism  of  the  world  ;  rocked  by 
Thomas  Ewing,  George  H.  Pendleton,  Samuel  Gary,  and  a  few 
others  throughout  the  land.  But  it  died  on  the  1st  of  January,  1879, 
and  the  one  hundred  and  forty  millions  of  gold  that  God  made,  and 
not  fiat  power,  lie  upon  its  little  carcass  to  keep  it  down  forever. 

Oh,  young  man,  come  out  of  that  !  That  is  no  place  in  which  to 
put  your  young  life.  Come  out,  and  come  over  into  this  camp  of 


388     GARF1ELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR. 

liberty,  of  order,  of  law,  of  justice,  of  freedom,  of  all  thai  is  glori- 
ous under  these  night  stars. 

Is  there  any  death  here  in  our  camp  ?  Yes  !  yes  !  Three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  soldiers,  the  noblest  band  that  ever  trod  the 
earth,  died  to  make  this  camp  a  camp  of  glory  and  of  liberty  for- 
ever. But  there  are  no  dead  issues  here.  There  are  no  dead  ideas 
here.  Hang  out  our  banner  from  under  the  blue  sky  this  night, 
until  it  shall  sweep  the  green  turf  under  your  feet.  It  hangs  over 
our  camp.  Read  away  up  under  the  stars  the  inscription  we  have 
"written  on  it,  lo  !  these  twenty-five  years. 

Twenty- five  years  ago  the  Republican  party  was  married  to  liberty, 
and  this  is  our  silver  wedding,  fellow-citizens.  A  worthily  married 
pair  love  each  other  better  on  the  day  of  their  silver  wedding  than 
on  the  day  of  their  first  espousals  ;  and  we  are  truer  to  liberty  to- 
day and  dearer  to  God  than  we  were  when  we  spoke  our  first  word 
of  liberty.  Read  away  up  under  the  sky  across  our  starry  banner 
that  first  word  we  uttered  twenty-five  years  ago  !  What  was  it? 
"  Slavery  shall  never  extend  over  another  foot  of  the  territory  of 
i he  great  West."  Is  that  dead  or  alive?  Alive,  thank  God,  for- 
evermore  !  And  truer  to-night  than  it  was  the  hour  it  was  written. 
Then  it  was  a  hope,  a  promise,  a  purpose.  To-night  it  is  equal 
with  the  stars — immortal  history  and  immortal  truth. 

Come  down  the  glorious  steps  of  our  banner.  Every  great  record 
we  have  made  we  have  vindicated  with  our  blood  and  with  our 
truth.  It  sweeps  the  ground,  and  it  touches  the  stars.  Come  here, 
young  man,  and  put  in  your  young  life  where  all  is  living,  and  where 
nothing  is  dead  but  the  heroes  that  defended  it.  I  think  these 
young  men  will  do  that. 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  GRAVEYARD. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Aug.  4,  1876.] 

I  WALK  across  that  Democratic  camping-ground  as  in  a  graveyard. 
Under  my  feet  resound  the  hollow  echoes  of  the  dead.  There  lies 
Slavery  ;  a  black  marble  column  at  the  head  of  its  grave,  on  which  I 
read,  Died  in  the  flames  of  the  civil  war  ;  loved  in  its  life,  lament- 
ed in  its  death  ;  followed  to  its  bier  by  its  only  mourner,  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  but  dead  !  And  here  is  a  double  grave  :  Sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Squatter  Sovereignty.  Died  in  the  campaign  of  1860. 
On  the  reverse  side  :  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Dred  Scott- 
Breckinridge  doctrine.  Both  dead  at  the  hands  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coin.  And  here  a  monument  of  brimstone  :  Sacred  to  the  memory 
of  the  Rebellion  ;  the  war  against  it  is  a  failure  ;  Tilden  et  Vallan- 
digham  fececunt,  A.D.  1864.  Dead  on  the  field  of  battle  ;  shot  to 


GAEFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.     289 

death  by  the  million  guns  of  the  Republic.  The  doctrine  of  Seces- 
sion, of  State  Sovereignty.  Dead  ;  expired  in  the  flames  of  civil 
war,  artn'd  the  blazing  ratters  of  the  Confederacy,  except  that  the 
modern  ^Eneas,  fleeing  out  of  the  flames  of  that  ruin,  bears  on  his 
back  another  Anchiscs  i-f  "State  Sovereignty,  and  brings  it  here  in 
the  person  of  the  honorable  gentleman  from  the  Appomattox  district 
of  Virginia.  All  else  is  dead. 

Now,  gentlemen,  are  you  sad,  are  you  sorry  for  these  deaths  ? 
Are  you  not  glad  that  secession  is  dead  ?  that  slavery  is  dead  ?  that 
squatter  sovereignty  is  dead  ?  that  the  doctrine  of  the  failure  of  the 
war  is  dead  ?  Then  you  are  glad  that  you  were  outvoted  in  1860, 
1864,  in  1868,  and  in  1872.  If  you  have  tears  to  shed  over  these 
losses,  shed  them  in  the  graveyard,  but  not  in  this  House  of  living 
men.  I  know  that  many  a  Southern  man  rejoices  that  these  issues 
are  dead.  The  gentleman  from  Mississippi  has  clothed  his  joy  with 
eloquence.  Now,  gentlemen,  if  you  yourselves  are  glad  that  you 
have  suffered  defeat  during  the  last  sixteen  years,  will  you  not  be 
equally  glad  when  you  suffer  defeat  next  November  ? 


RELATION  OP  CURRENCY  TO  PRICES. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  May  15,  1868.] 

LET  us  examine  more  minutely  the  effect  of  such  a  currency  upon 

rices.     Suppose  that  the  business  transactions  of  the  country  at 

le  present  time  require  $350,000,000  in  gold.     It  is  manifest  that 

there  are  just  8350,000,000  of  legal-tender  notes,   and  no  other 

noney  in  the  country,  each  dollar  will  perform  the  full  functions  of 

gold  dollar,  so  far  as  the  work  of  exchange  is  concerned.     Now, 

usiness  remaining  the  same,  let  .$350,000,000  more  of  the  same 

ind  of  notes  be  pressed  into  circulation.     The  whole  volume,  as 

lus  increased,  can  do  no  mure  than  all  the  business.   Each  dollar  will 

ccomplish  just  half  the  work  that  a  dollar  did  before  the  increase, 

ut  as  the  nominal  dollar  is  fixed  by  law,  the  effect  is  shown  in 

rices  being  doubled.     It  requires  two  of  these  dollars  to  make  the 

same  purchase  that  one  dollar  made  before  the  increase.     It  would 

require  some  time  for  the  business  of  the  country  to  adjust  itself  to 

•jew  conditions,  and  great  derangement  of  values  would  ensue  ; 

'  ut  the  result  would  at  last  be  reached  in  all  transactions  which  are 

"ontrolled  by  the  law  of  demand  and  supply. 

No  such  change  of  value  can   occur  without  cost.     Somebody 

-    pay  for    it.     Who    pays   in   this   case  ?     We    have  seen    that 

;:  the  currency  finally  results  in  reducing  the  purchasing  powe-. 


290     &ARFIELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   OP.  A  TOE. 

of  each  dollar  one  half  ;  hence  every  mail  who  held  a  legal-tender 
note  at  the  time  of  the  increase,  and  continued  to  hold  it  till  the  full 
effect  of  the  increase  was  produced,  suffered  a  loss  of  fifty  per  cent 
of  its  value  ;  in  other  words,  he  paid  a  tax  to  the  amount  oi  half  of 
all  the  currency  in  his  possession.  This  new  issue,  therefore,  by 
depreciating  the  value  of  all  the  currency,  cost  the  holders  of  the 
old  issue  $175,000,000  ;  and  if  the  new  notes  were  received  at  their 
nominal  value  at  the  date  of  issue,  their  holders  paid  a  tax  of 
>> 1 7 5, 000,000  more.  No  more  unequal  or  unjust  mode  of  taxation 
could  possibly  be  devised.  It  would  be  tolerated  only  by  being  so 
involved  in  the  transactions  of  business  as  to  be  concealed  from 
observation  ;  but  it  would  be  no  less  real  because  hidden. 


SURPLUS  AND  DEFICIT  IN  THE  TREASURY. 

[From  a  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  5,  1874.] 

REVENUES  and  expenditures  may  be  considered  from  two  points 
of  view — in  relation  to  Che  people  and  their  industries,  and  in  rela- 
tion to  the  government  and  the  effective  working  of  its  machinery. 
So  far  as  the  people  are  concerned,  they  willingly  bear  the  burdens 
of  taxation,  when  they  see  that  their  contributions  are  honestly  and 
wisely  expended  to  maintain  the  government  of  their  choice,  and 
to  accomplish  those  objects  which  they  consider  necessary  for  the 
general  welfare.  So  far  as  the  government  is  concerned  the  sound- 
ness of  its  financial  affairs  depends  upon  the  annual  surplus  of  its 
revenues  over  expenditures.  A  steady  and  constant  revenue  drawn 
from  sources  that  represent  the  prosperity  of  the  nation — a  revenue 
that  grows  with  the  growth  of  national  wealth  and  is  so  adjusted  to 
the  expenditures  that  a  constant  and  considerable  surplus  is  annually 
left  in  the  treasury  above  all  the  necessary  current  demands  ;  a 
surplus  that  keeps  the  treasury  strong,  that  holds  it  above  the  fear 
of  sudden  panic  ;  that  makes  it  impregnable  against  all  private  com- 
binations ;  that  makes  it  a  terror  to  all  stock  jobbing  and  gold- 
gambling — this  is  financial  health.  This  is  the  situation  that  wise 
statesmanship  should  endeavor  to  support  and  maintain. 

Of  course  in  this  discussion  I  leave  out  the  collateral  though  im- 
portant subject  of  banking  and  currency.  The  surplus,  then,  is  the 
key  to  our  financial  situation.  Every  act  of  legislation  should  be 
studied  in  view  of  its  effects  upon  the  surplus.  Two  sets  of  forces 
are  constantly  acting  upon  the  surplus.  It  is  increased  by  the 
growth  of  the  revenue  and  by  the  decrease  of  expenditure.  It  is 
decreased  by  the  repeal  or  reduction  of  taxation,  and  by  the  increase 
of  expenditures  When  both  forces  conspire  against  it,  when  taxes 


QARF1ELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND   ORATOR.     291 

are  diminished  and  expenditures  are  increased,  the  surplus  disap- 
pears. 

With  the  disappearance  of  the  surplus  comes  disaster — disaster  to 
the  treasury,  disaster  to  the  public  credit,  disaster  to  all  the  public 
interests.  In  times  of  peace,  when  no  sudden  emergency  has  made 
a  great  and  imperious  demand  upon  the  treasury,  a  deficit  cannot 
occur  except  as  the  result  of  unwise  legislation  or  reckless  and  un- 
warranted administration.  That  legislation  may  consist  in  too 
great  an  increase  of  appropriations,  or  in  too  great  a  reduction  of 
taxation,  or  in  both  combined. 


HEROES   IN   POLITICS. 

[From  an  Oration  delivered  at  Ravenna,  Ohio,  July  4,  1860.] 
As  a  people  we  are  brimfull  of  enthusiasm  and  excitement.  To 
Europeans  our  Presidential  campaigns  are  a  source  of  profound  as- 
tonishment. Mackay  in  his  late  tour  among  us  expressed  his  won- 
der that  such  an  intensely  exciting  mass  meeting  should  be  held  in 
the  City  of  New  York  without  the  restraining  influence  of  military 
force.  But  they  do  not  understand  the  orrlnipotence  of  majorities 
among  us.  Let  a  contest  rage  never  so  fiercely,  with  all  the  inten- 
sity which  excited  partisans  can  feel,  and  though  each  will  fight  for 
his  man  or  party  to  the  bitter  end  yet,  when  once  the  voice  of  the 
majority  has  been  clearly  and  fairly  expressed,  the  waves  of  strife 
are  still,  and  ninety-nine  in  the  hundred  of  that  fiery  throng  would 
fight  to  their  death  to  sustain  the  will  of  that  majority.  This  strong 
element  of  national  enthusiasm  has  given  a  peculiar  character  to  our 
hero-worship.  We  are  never  without  a  man  or  a  motto  to  shout 
over.  Still  our  Hosannas  are  not  so  much  for  the  man  as  for  the 
doctrine  he  represents.  Our  political  heroes  we  very  appropriately 
call  "  standard-bearers."  We  applaud  the  motto  inscribed  on  the 
banner  rather  than  him  who  bears  it.  He  may  soon  pass  out  of 
sight,  but  the  motto  is  preserved.  And  here  we  are  reminded  of 
that  proverbial  ingratitude  charged  upon  republics  for  their  treat- 
ment of  their  great  men.  It  must  be  conceded  that  for  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  few  of  our  first  men  have  been  elevated  to  the 
highest  positions.  This  has  at  least  demonstrated  the  virtue  and 
strength  of  the  Government,  that  with  only  mediocre  men  at  the 
helm  its  functions  could  be  so  easily  and  well  discharged.  It  may 
be  fairly  questioned  whether  the  welfare  of  the  whole  people  does 
not  demand  that  the  power  and  control  of  great  men  should  be 
jealously  watched  and  in  a  measure  abridged.  As  a  giant  tree 
absorbs  all  the  elements  of  growth  within  its  reach,  and  leaves  only 
a  sickly  vegetation  in  its  shadow,  so  do  towering  great  men  absorb 
all  the  strength  and  glory  of  their  surroundings. 


QARF1ELD  AS  STATESMAN  AND  ORATOR. 


TREASON   IN   CONGRESS. 

[From  Remarks  in  the  House  Jan.  1874  ln  answer  to  a  speech  by  Alexander  Long 
in  favor  of  recognizing  the  Southern  Confederacy.] 

FIRST  of  all,  the  gentleman  tells  us  that  the  right  of  secession  is  a 
constitutional  right.  I  do  not  propose  to  enter  into  the  argument. 
I  have  expressed  myself  hitherto  upon  State  sovereignty  and  State 
rights,  of  which  this  proposition  is  the  legitimate  child.  But  the 
gentleman  takes  higher  ground,  and  in  that  I  agree  with  him, 
namely,  that  five  million  or  eight  million  people  possess  the  right 
of  revolution.  Grant  it  :  we  agree  there.  If  fifty-nine  men  can 
make  revolution  successful,  they  have  the  right  of  revolution.  If 
one  Stale  wishes  to  break  its  connection  with  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, and  does  it  by  force,  maintaining  itself,  it  is  an  independent 
nation.  If  the  eleven  Southern  States  are  determined  and  resolved 
to  leave  the  Union,  to  secede,  to  revolutionize,  and  can  maintain 
that  revolution  by  force,  they  have  the  revolutionary  right  to  do  so. 
Grant  it.  I  stand  on  that  platform  with  the  gentleman. 

And  now  the  question  comes,  Is  it  our  constitutional  duty  to  let 
them  do  it  ?  That  is  the  question,  and  in  order  to  reach  it  I  beg  to 
call  your  attention,  not  to  an  argument,  but  to  the  condition  of 
affairs  which  would  result  from  such  action,  the  mere  statement  of 
which  becomes  the  strongest  possible  argument.  What  does  this 
gentleman  propose  ?  Where  will  he  draw  the  line  of  division  ?  If 
the  rebels  carry  into  successful  secession  what  they  desire  to  carry  ; 
if  their  revolution  envelops  as  many  States  as  they  intend  it  shall 
envelop  ;  if  they  draw  the  line  where  Isharn  G.  Harris,  the  rebel 
Governor  of  Tennessee,  in  the  rebel  camp  near  our  lines,  old  Mr. 
Vailandigham  they  would  draw  it — along  the  line  of  the  Ohio  and 
the  Potomac  ;  if  they  make  good  their  declaration  to  him  that  they 
will  never  consent  to  any  other  line,  then  I  ask,  what  is  this  thing 
that  the  gentleman  proposes  to  do  ?  I  tell  you,  and  I  confess  it 
h^-re,  that  while  I  hope  I  have  something  of  human  courage,  I  have 
not  enough  to  contemplate  such  a  result.  I  am  nol  brave  enough 
to  go  to  the  precipice  of  successful  secession  and  look  down  into  its 
damned  abyss.  If  my  vision  were  keen  enough  to  pierce  to  its  bot- 
tom, I  would  not  dare  to  look.  If  there  be  a  man  here  who  dare 
contemplate  such  a  spectacle,  I  look  upon  him  as  the  bravest  of  the 
sons  of  women  or  as  a  downright  madman.  Secession  to  gain 
peace  !  Secession  is  the  tocsin  of  eternal  war.  There  can  be  no 
end  to  such  a  war  as  will  be  inaugurated  of  this  thing  be  done,  and 
leave  a  dearth  of  greatness  for  a  whole  generation.  A  monopoly 
of  popular  honors  is  as  much  a  tyranny  as  a  monopoly  of  wealth. 
The  good,  of  the  many  should  be  dearer  to  the  American  heart  than 
i:ic  irood  of  the  few. 


GEN,   GARFIELD'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 


MENTOR,  0.,  July  12. 

DEAR  SIR  :  On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  June  last  I  had  the 
honor  to  receive  from  you,  in  the  presence  of  the  committee  of 
which  you  were  chairman,  the  official  announcement  that  the 
Republican  National  Convention  at  Chicago  had  that  day  nom- 
inated me  as  their  candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States. 
I  accept  the  nomination  with  gratitude  for  the  confidence  it  im- 
plies, and  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  responsibility  it  imposes.  I 
cordially  endorse  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  platform 
adopted  by  the  Convention.  On  nearly  all  the  subjects  of  which 
it  treats,  my  opinions  are  on  record  among  the  published  pro- 
ceedings of  Congress.  I  venture,  however,  to  make  special 
mention  of  some  of  the  principal  topics  which  are  likely  to  be- 
come subjects  of  discussion. 

Without  reviewing  the  controversies  which  have  been  settled 
during  the  last  twenty  years,  and  with  no  purpose  or  wish  to 
revive  the  passions  of  the  late  war,  it  should  be  said  that  while 
the  Republicans  fully  recognize  and  will  strenuously  defend 
all  the  rights  retained  by  the  people  and  all  the  rights  reserved 
to  the  States,  they  reject  the  pernicious  doctrine  of  State  suprem 
acy  which  so  long  crippled  the  functions  of  the  National  Gov- 
ernment, and  at  one  time  brought  the  Union  very  near  to  de- 
struction. They  insist  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation,  with 
ample  power  of  self-preservation  ;  that  its  Constitution  and  the 
laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof  are  the  supreme  law  of  tin- 
land  ;  that  the  right  of  the  Nation  to  determine  the  method 
by  which  its  own  Legislature  shall  be  created  cannot  be  surren- 


2'J-l        GARFIELD'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

dered  without  abdicating  one  of  the  fundamental  powers  of 
government  ;  that  the  national  laws  relating  to  the  election  of 
Representatives  in  Congress  shall  neither  be  violated  nor  evaded  ; 
that  every  elector  shall  be  permitted  freely  and  without  intimi- 
dation to  cast  his  lawful  ballot  at  such  election  and  have  it  hon- 
estly counted,  and  that  the  potency  of  his  vote  shall  not  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  fraudulent  vote  of  any  other  person. 

The  best  thoughts  and  energies  of  our  people  should  be  di- 
rected to  those  great  questions  of  national  well-being  in  which 
all  have  a  common  interest.  Such  efforts  will  soouest  restore 
perfect  peace  to  those  who  were  lately  in  arms  against  each 
other  ;  for  justice  and  good-will  will  outlast  passion.  But  it  is 
certain  that  the  wounds  of  the  war  cannot  be  completely  healed, 
and  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  cannot  fully  pervade  the  whole 
country,  until  every  citizen,  rich  or  poor,  white  or  black,  is  se- 
cure in  the  free  and  equal  enjoyment  of  every  civil  and  political 
right  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws.  Wherever 
the  enjoyment  of  these  rights  is  not  assured,  discontent  will 
prevail,  immigration  will  cease,  and  the  social  and  industrial 
forces  will  continue  to  be  disturbed  by  the  migration  of  la- 
borers and  the  consequent,  diminution  of  prosperity.  The  Xa- 
tional  Government  should  exercise  all  its  constitutional  author- 
ity to  put  an  end  to  these  evils,  for  all  the  people  and  all  the 
States  are  members  of  one  body,  and  no  member  can  suffer 
without  injury  to  all.  The  most  serious  evils  which  now  afflict 
the  South  arise  from  the  fact  that  there  is  not  such  freedom 
and  toleration  of  political  opinion  and  action  thnt  the  minority 
party  can  exercise  an  effectve  and  wholesome  restraint  upon  the 
party  in  power.  Without  such  restraint  party  rule  becomes 
tyrannical  and  corrupt.  The  prosperity  which  is  made  possible 
in  the  South  by  its  great  advantages  of  soil  and  climate  will 
never  be  realized  until  every  voter  can  freely  and  safely  support 
any  party  he  pleases. 

Next  in  importance  to  freedom  and  justice  is  popular  edura- 


GARFIELD'S  LETTER   OF  ACCEPTANCE.        295 

tion,  without  which  neither  freedom  nor  justice  can  be  perma- 
nently maintained.  Its  interests  are  entrusted  to  the  States  and 
to  the  voluntary  action  of  the  people.  Whatever  help  the  Na- 
tion can  justly  afford  should  be  generously  given  to  aid  the 
States  in  supporting  common  schools  ;  but  it  would  be  unjust 
to  our  people  and  dangerous  to  our  institutions  to  apply  any 
portion  of  the  revenues  of  the  Nation,  or  of  the  States,  to  the 
support  of  sectarian  schools.  The  separation  of  the  Church  and 
the  State  in  everything  relating  to  taxation  should  be  absolute. 
On  the  subject  of  national  finances  my  views  have  been  so 
frequently  and  fully  expressed  that  little  is  needed  in  the  way 
of  additional  statement.  The  public  debt  is  now  so  well  secured 
and  the  rate  of  annual  interest  has  been  so  reduced  by  refund- 
ing, that  rigid  economy  in  expenditures  and  the  faithful  appli- 
cation of  our  surplus  revenues  to  the  payment  of  the  principal 
of  the  debt  \vill  gradually  but  certainly  free  the  people  from  its 
burdens,  and  close  with  honor  the  financial  chapter  of  the  war. 
At  the  same  time  the  Government  can  provide  for  all  its  ordi- 
nary expenditures  and  discharge  its  sacred  obligations  to  the 
soldiers  of  the  Union,  and  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those 
who  fell  in  its  defence.  The  resumption  of  specie  payments, 
•which  the  Republican  Party  so  courageously  and  successfully 
accomplished,  has  removed  from  the  field  of  controversy  many 
questions  that  long  and  seriously  disturbed  the  credit  of  the 
Government  and  the  business  of  the  country.  Our  paper  cur- 
rency is  now  as  national  as  the  flag,  and  resumption  has  not 
only  made  it  everywhere  equal  to  coin,  but  has  brought  into 
use  our  store  of  gold  and  silver.  The  circulating  medium  is 
more  abundant  than  ever  before,  and  \ve  need  only  to  maintain 
the  equality  of  all  our  dollars  to  insure  to  labor  nnd  capital  a 
measure  of  value  from  the  use  of  which  no  one  can  suffer  loss. 
Tlie  great  prosperity  which  the  country  is  now  enjoying  should 
not  be  endangered  by  any  violent  changes  or  doubtful  financial 
experiments. 


-v;  J        GAR  FIELD'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

In  reference  to  our  customs  laws  a  policy  should  be  pursued 
which  will  bring  revenues  to  the  Treasury,  and  will  enable  the 
labor  and  capital  employed  in  our  great  industries  to  compete 
fairly  in  our  own  markets  with  the  labor  and  capital  of  foreign 
producers.  We  legislate  for  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  not  for  the  whole  world,  and  it  is  our  glory  that  the  Amer- 
ican laborer  is  more  intelligent  and  better  paid  than  his  foreign 
competitor.  Our  country  cannot  be  independent  unless  its 
people,  with  their  abundant  natural  resources,  possess  the  re- 
quisite skill  at  any  time  to  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  themselves 
for  war,  and  in  time  of  peace  to  produce  all  the  necessary  im- 
plements of  labor.  It  was  the  manifest  intention  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  Government  to  provide  for  the  common  defence,  not 
by  standing  armies  alone,  but  by  raising  among  the  people  a 
if  i  eater  army  of  artisans  whose  intelligence  and  skill  should 
powerfuly  contribute  to  the  safety  and  glory  of  the  nation. 

Fortunately  for  the  interests  of  commerce,  there  is  no  longer 
any  formidable  opposition  to  appropriations  for  the  improvement 
of  our  harbors  and  great  navigable  rivers,  provided  that  the  ex- 
penditures for  that  purpose  are  strictly  limited  to  works  of  na- 
tional importance.  The  Mississippi  River,  with  its  great  tribu- 
taries, is  of  such  vital  importance  to  so  many  millions  of  people 
that  the  safety  of  its  navigation  requires  exceptional  considera- 
tion. In  order  to  secure  to  the  Nation  the  control  of  all  its 
waters,  President  Jeflerson  negotiated  the  purchase  of  a  vast 
territory,  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  wisdom  of  Congress  should  be  invoked  to  devise 
some  plan  by  which  that  great  river  shall  cease  to  be  a  terror  to 
those  who  dwell  upon  its  banks,  and  by  whioli  its  shipping  may 
safely  carry  the  industrial  products  of  25,000,000  of  people. 
The  interested  of  agriculture,,  which  is  the  basis  of  all  our  material 
prosperity,  and  in  which  seven-twelfths  of  our  population  are 
engaged,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  manufactures  and  commerce, 


GARFIELD'S  LETTER   OF  ACCEPTANCE.        297 

demand  that  the  facilities  for  cheap  transportation  shall  be  in- 
creased by  the  use  of  all  our  great  water-courses. 

The  material  interests  of  this  country,  the  traditions  of  its 
settlement,  and  the  sentiment  of  our  people  have  led  the  Govern- 
ment to  offer  the  widest  hospitality  to  immigrants  who  seek  our 
shores  for  new  and  happier  homes,  willling  to  share  the  burdens 
as  well  as  the  benefits  of  our  society,  and  intending  that  their 
posterity  shall  become  an  undistinguishable  part  of  our  popula- 
tion. The  recent  movement  of  the  Chinese  to  our  Pacific  Coast 
partakes  but  little  of  the  qualities  of  such  an  immigration  either 
in  its  purpose  or  its  result.  It  is  too  much  like  an  importation  to 
be  welcomed  without  restriction  ;  too  much  like  an  invasion  to 
be  looked  upon  without  solicitude.  We  cannot  consent  to  al- 
low any  form  of  servile  labor  to  be  introduced  among  us  under 
the  guise  of  immigration.  Recognizing  the  gravity  of  this  sub- 
ject, the  present  Administration,  supported  by  Congress,  has 
sent  to  China  a  commission  of  distinguished  citizens  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  such  a  modification  of  the  existing  treaty  as 
will  prevent  the  evils  likely  to  arise  from  the  present  situation. 
It  is  confidently  believed  that  these  diplomatic  negotiations  will 
be  successful  without  the  loss  of  commercial  intercourse  be- 
tween the  two  Powers,  which  promises  a  great  increase  of  re- 
ciprocal trade  and  the  enlargement  of  our  markets.  Should 
these  efforts  fail,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  Congress  to  mitigate  the 
evils  already  felt,  and  prevent  their  increase  by  such  restrictions 
its,  without  violence  or  injustice,  will  place  upon  a  sure  founda- 
tion the  peace  of  our  communities  and  the  freedom  and  dig- 
nity of  labor. 

The  appointment  of  citizens  to  the  various  executive  and  judi- 
cial offices  of  the  Government  is,  perhaps,  the  most  difficult  of 
all  duties  which  the  Constitution  has  imposed  on  the  Executive. 
The  Convention  wisely  demands  that  Congress  shall  co-operate 
with  the  executive  departments  in  placing  the  Civil  Service  on  a 
better  basis.  Experience  has  proved  that  with  our  frequent 


298        QARfflELirS  LETTER   OF  ACCEPTANCE. 


changes  of  administration  no  system  of  reform  can  be  made 
effective  and  permanent  without  the  aid  of  legislation.  Ap- 
pointments to  the  military  and  naval  service  are  so  regulated  by 
law  and  custom  as  to  leave  but  little  ground  for  complaint.  It 
may  not  be  wise  to  make  similar  regulations  by  law  for  the  Civil 
Service.  But  without  invading  the  authority  or  necessary  dis- 
cretion of  the  Executive,  Congress  should  devise  a  method  that 
will  determine  the  tenure  of  office,  and  greatly  reduce  the  un- 
certainty which  makes  that  service  so  uncertain  and  xinsatisfac- 
tory.  Without  depriving  any  officer  of  his  rights  as  a  citizen, 
the  Government  should  require  him  to  discharge  all  his  official 
duties  with  intelligence,  efficiency,  and  faithfulness.  To  select 
wisely  from  our  vast  population  those  who  are  best  fitted  for 
the  many  offices  to  be  filled,  requires  an  acquaintance  far  be- 
yond the  range  of  any  one  man.  The  Executive  should,  there- 
fore seek  and  receive  information  and  assistance  of  those  whose 
knowledge  of  the  communities  in  which  the  duties  are  to  be 
performed  best  qualifies  them  to  aid  in  making  the  wisest  choice. 

The  doctrines  announced  by  the  Chicago  Convention  are  not 
the  temporary  devices  of  a  party  to  attract  votes  and  carry  an 
election  ;  they  are  deliberate  convictions  resulting  from  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  sphit  of  our  institutions,  the  events  of  our  his- 
tory, and  the  best  impulses  of  our  people.  In  my  judgment 
these  principles  should  control  the  legislation  and  administra- 
tion of  the  Government.  In  any  event,  they  will  guide  my 
conduct  until  experience  points  out  a  better  way. 

If  elected,  it  will  be  my  purpose  to  enforce  strict  obedience 
to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  and  to  promote,  as  best  I  may, 
the  interest  and  honor  of  the  whole  country,  relying  for  support 
upon  the  wisdom  of  Congress,  the  intelligence  and  patriotism 
of  the  people,  and  the  favor  of  God.  With  great  respect,  1  am 
very  truly  yours,  J.  A.  GAKFIELD. 

To  the  Hon.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR,  Ohairman  of  Committee. 


LIFE    OF 

CHESTER  A/ARTHUR 

OF    NEW  YORK. 


BY 

E.  L.   M  U  R  L  I  N. 


A 


LIFE   OF 

CHESTER   A.    ARTHUR 


CHAPTER  I. 

BOYHOOD  AND  COLLEGE  LIFE. 

THK  traveller  through  Washington  County,  New  York,  and 
the  bordering  counties  of  Southwestern  Vermont  finds  a  land 
that  has  many  of  the  characteristics  of  a  mountain  region.  There 
are  long  and  narrow  valleys  adorned  with  rich  meadows,  shut 
in  by  hills  approaching  the  height  of  mountains — their  bases 
covered  with  farms  and  their  crests  hidden  by  dense  forests. 
To  the  northward  the  dwellers  on  these  hills  see,  low-lying  on  the 
horizon  line,  the  Adirondacks  ;  at  the  south  t.ie  curving  line  of 
the  blue  Catskills  ;  while  cleaving  their  land  is  a  great  mountain 
range,  a  huge  ridge  of  rock  and  forest  lifted  high  in  the  air — 
the  Green  Mountains.  The  inhabitants  of  this  region,  as  in  all 
mountainous  countries,  have  always  been  a  liberty-loving  people 
and  very  energetic  in  their  action  when  they  thought  it  endan- 
gered. From  them  went  forth  Ethan  Allen  to  conquer  Ticon- 
derogn,  "  in  the  name  of  God  and  the  Continental  Congress." 
From  them  again,  in  1851,  there  came  forth  a  young  man  who 
loved  liberty  and  believed  in  .human  freedom,  and  who,  from 
these  native  traits,  was  to  take  a  great  part  in  the  liberation  and 
enfranchisement  of  four  million  slaves  then  in  bondage. 

Chester  Alan  Arthur  was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Vermont, 
on  the  5th  day  of  October,  1830.  He  was  the  eldest  of  two 


302  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

sons  ;  he  had  four  sisters  older  and  one  younger  than  himself. 
His  father,  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Arthur,  was  a  Baptist  clergy- 
man, who  came  to  the  United  States  from  Ballymena,  County 
Antrim,  Ireland,  when  only  18  years  old,  and  died  at  an 
advanced  age  in  Newtonville,  near  Albany,  on  October  27th, 
1875.  Dr.  Arthur  was  a  finely-educated  man  ;  a  graduate  of 
Belfast  University,  Ireland.  For  several  years  he  published 
The  Antiquarian,  a  journal  devoted,  as  its  title  indicates,  to  anti- 
quarian research.  A  work  of  his  own,  "  Family  Names,"  is  still 
highly  esteemed  by  the  collectors  of  this  kind  of  literature. 
While  devoting  himself  to  literature,  he  yet  fulfilled  faithfully 
all  the  duties  of  his  special  calling.  He  was  pastor  of  the 
Calvary  Baptist  Church,  Albany  ;  and  also  of  Baptist  churches 
at  Bennington,  Hinesburg,  Fairfield  and  Williston,  in  Vermont  ; 
and  at  York,  Perry,  Greenwich,  Schenectady,  Lansingburg, 
Hoosic,  West  Troy,  and  Newtonville,  in  New  York  State.  The 
second  son,  William  Arthur,  highly  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  He  is  now  a  pay- 
master of  the  regular  army  with  the  rank  of  major. 

Chester  A.  Arthur  found  his  father's  fine  knowledge  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek  classics  of  great  advantage  to  him  when  he- 
came  to  prepare  for  college.  His  preparation  first  began  in 
Union  Village,  now  Greenwich,  a  beautiful  village  of  Washing- 
ton County,  New  York  ;  and  was  concluded  at  the  grammar 
school  at  Schenectady.  Thanks  to  his  fine  training  young 
Arthur  took  a  high  position  in  Union  College,  which  he  entered 
in  1845,  when  only  15  years  old.  Every  year  of  his  college 
course  he  was  declared  to  be  one  of  those  who  had  taken 
"maximum  honors"^  and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  college 
course,  out  of  a  class  of  one  hundred  members  he  was  one 
of  six  who  were  elected  members  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society,  the  condition  of  entrance  to  which  is  the  highest  schol- 
arship. This  was  the  more  creditable  to  him  as  he  was  compelled 
to  obsent  himself  from  Union  two  winters  during  his  course,  to 


LTFE  Of  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR*  303 

:'.rn  money  to  go  on  with  his  education.  His  father  was  receiv- 
ing a  salary  of  only  $500,  and  with  a  large  family  to  support 
with  it,  found  that  he  could  not  aid  his  eldest  son  through  col- 
lege. When  16  years  old,  therefore,  and  a  Sophomore,  young 
Arthur  left  college,  and  obtaining  a  school  at  Schaghticoke, 
Rensselaer  County,  taught  there  throughout  the  winter.  He  had 
"  to  board  around  "  and  received  only  $15  a  month  compensa- 
tion. He  also  had  to  keep  up  his  studies  in  college.  In  the 
last  year  of  his  college  course  he  again  taught  during  the  winter 
•  at  Schaghticoke.  He  was  graduated,  at  18  years  of  age,  from 
Union  College  in  the  class  of  1848.  In  college  he  had  been  very 
popular  with  his  fellow-students  and  had  become  a  member  of 
the  Psi  Upsilon  fraternity — in  whose  welfare  he  ever  after  took 
a  keen  interest. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AT   WORK   FOR   THE  SLAVE. 

AT  college  he  had  determined  to  become  a  lawyer.  Accord- 
ingly, upon  graduation  he  went  to  a  law  school  at  Ballston 
Springs,  and  there  remained  diligently  studying  for  several 
months.  He  then  returned  to  Lansingburg,  where  his  father 
then  resided  and  there  studied  law.  In  1851  he  obtained  a  situ- 
ation as  principal  of  an  academy  at  North  Pownal,  Bennington 
County,  Vermont.  He  prepared  boys  for  college,  all  the  while 
studying  law.  Two  years  after  he  left  North  Pownal,  or  in 
1853,  a  student  from  Williams  College  named  James  A.  Garfield 
came  to  the  place,  and  in  the  same  academy  bin  Id  ing  taught  pen- 
manship throughout  one  winter.  It  was  a  singular  circumstance 
that  after  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  both  these  men  should 
meet  at  a  great  political  convention  and  unexpectedly  to  them- 
selves be  picked  out  as  the  candidates  of  the  Republican  Party 
for  President  and  Vice-President. 


304  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

Mr.  Arthur  came  to  New  York  in  1853  and  entered  the 
office  of  E.  D.  Culver  as  a  law  student.  By  the  strictest  econ- 
omy he  had  saved  $500,  and  with  this  determined  to  start  out 
in  business  life.  He  had  known  Mr.  Culver  when  the  latter 
was  a  Congressman  from  Washington  County  and  when  Mr. 
Arthur's  father  was  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  the  village. 
Mr.  Culver  was  celebrated  in  Congress  for  his  firm  anti-slavery 
principles,  and  his  law  office  in  New  York  was  one  of  the  depots 
of  "  The  Underground  Railway  "  patronized  by  runaway  slaves. 
It  was  from  Mr.  Culver  that  Mr.  Arthur  imbibed  his  anti-slavery 
ideas.  Admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1853  he  became,  at  once  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Culver,  Parker  &  Arthur,  where  he  remained 
until  the  dissolution  of  that  firm  in  1857.  He  then  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Henry  D.  Gardiner,  an  intimate  friend,  the 
firm  being  Arthur  &  Gardiner.  They  had  intended  to  practice 
law  in  the  West,  but  after  a  three  months'  tour  through  the 
A\7est  they  concluded  that  their  prospects  were  better  in  New 
York  City.  They  accordingly  returned  to  New  York,  and  very 
soon  acquired  a  very  lucrative  practice. 

Already  there  were  tokens  of  the  coming  struggle  over 
slavery.  Mr.  Arthur's  fame  as  a  lawyer  had  begun  earlier  with 
his  management  of  a  very  celebrated  slave  case.  In  1852,  a 
slaveholder  of  Virginia  named  Jonathan  Lemmon  determined 
to  take  eight  slaves  to  Texas.  He  brought  them  by  steamer 
from  Norfolk  to  New  York,  intending  to  reship  them  from 
New  York  for  Texas.  While  in  New  York  these  slaves  were 
discovered  by  a  free  colored  man  named  Louis  Napoleon.  He 
had  been  told  that  slaves  could  not  legally  be  held  in  the  State 
of-  New  York.  He  accordingly  presented  a  petition  to  Elijah 
Paine,  a  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court  of  New  York,  asking 
that  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  be  issued  to  the  persons  having  the 
slaves  in  charge,  commanding  them  to  bring  the  slaves  into 
court  at  once.  Mr.  Culver  and  John  Jay  appeared  as  counsel 
for  the  slaves,  and  II.  D.  Lapaugh  and  Henry  L.  Clinton  for 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  305 

Leinmon.  Judge  Paine,  after  hearing  long  arguments,  ordered 
the  slaves  released,  affirming  that  the  fugitive-slave  law  did 
not  apply  to  them  and  that  no  human  creature  could  be  held  in 
bondage  in  the  State,  except  under  that  national  law.  This 
decision  created  great  excitement  in  the  slave  States,  as  it  prac- 
tically made  every  slave  free  who  should  put  foot  on  the  soil  of  a 
free  State.  Governor  Cobb  of  Georgia  thought  the  decision  would 
be  "  a  just  cause  for  war."  Governor  Johnson,  of  Virginia  said  : 
"  In  importance  it  is  of  the  first  magnitude,  and  in  spirit  it  is 
without  a  parallel.  If  sustained,  it  will  not  only  destroy  that 
comity  which  should  liave  subsisted  between  the  several  States 
composing  this  Confederacy,  but  must  seriously  affect  the  value 
of  slave  property  wherever  found."  Inspired  by  this  message, 
the  Legislature  of  Virginia  directed  the  Attorney-General  of  the 
State  to  employ  counsel  to  appeal  from  the  decision  of  Judge 
Paine  to  the  higher  courts  of  New  York.  Mr.  Arthur  went  to 
Albany  and  after  persistent  effort  induced  the  Legislature  of 
New  York  to  take  up  the  challenge  ;  and  he  procured  the 
passage  of  a  joint  resolution  requesting  the  Governor  to  appoint 
counsel  to  defend  the  interests  of  the  State.  Ogden  Hoffman, 
then  Attorney-General,  E.  D.  Culver,  and  Joseph  Blunt  were 
appointed  the  counsel  of  the  State.  Mr.  Arthur  was  the  State's 
attorney  in  the  matter,  and  upon  the  death  of  Ogden  Hoffman 
at  the  suggestion  he  associated  with  him  William  M.  Evarts  as 
counsel.  The  Supreme  Court  sustained  Judge  Paine's  decision. 
Thereupon  to  strengthen  their  cause  the  slaveholders  engaged 
Charles  O' Conor  to  argue  the  case  before  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
But  there  again,  the  counsel  for  the  State  were  successful  in  de- 
fending Judge  Paine's  decision  ;  and  thenceforth  no  slaveholder 
dared  venture  with  his  slaves  into  the  State  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Arthur  became  such  a  champion  of  their  interests  in  the 
eyes  of  the  colored  people  by  his  connection  with  this  case  that 
it  was  natural  they  should  seek  his  aid  when  next  in  trouble. 
The  street  car  companies  of  New  York,  cringing  to  the  senti- 


306  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

ments  of  the  slaveholders,  made  almost  no  provision  for  the 
transportation  of  colored  people.  Upon  several  of  the  lines 
occasionally  there  could  be  seen  passing  by  an  old  and  shabby- 
looking  car  labelled,  "  Colored  persons  allowed  in  this  car." 
Several  of  the  lines  did  not  make  even  this  provision.  This  was 
the  case  with  the  rich  Fourth  Avenue  line.  One  Sunday  in 
1855  a  neatly-dressed  colored  woman  named  Lizzie  Jennings, 
who  had  jusjb  come  from  fulfilling  her  duties  as  superintendent 
of  a  colored  Sunday-school,  hailed  a  Fourth  Avenue  car.  The 
car  stopped,  she  took  a  seat,  and  the  conductor  took  her  fare 
— thus  silently  acknowledging  her  right  to  ride  on  the  car.  The 
car  went  on  a  block  and  then  a  drunken  white  man  said  to  the 

conductor  :  "  Are  you  going  to  let  that  nigger  ride  in 

this  car  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  guess  it  won't  make  any  difference,"  said  the  con- 
ductor. 

"  Yes,  but  it  will,"  answered  the  pro-slavery  man  ;  "I  have 
paid  my  fare,  and  I  want  a  decent  ride,  and  I  tell  you  you've 
got  to  give  me  a  decent  ride." 

Thereupon  the  conductor  went  to  Lizzie  Jennings  and  asked 
her  to  leave  the  car,  offering  to  return  her  fare.  She  refused 
to  comply  with  the  request.  The  car  was  stopped  and  the 
conductor  attempted  to  put  her  off  by  force.  She  strenuously 
resisted,  all  the  while  crying  :  "I  have  paid  my  fare  and  I  am 
entitled  to  ride."  Her  clothing  was  almost  torn  from  her  body, 
but  still  she  resisted,  and  resisted  successfully.  Finally,  the 
conductor  had  to  call  in  several  policemen,  and  by  their  efforts 
she  was  finally  removed  from  the  car.  Influential  colored  peo- 
ple soon  heard  of  her  treatment,  and  going  to  the  office  of  Cul- 
ver, Parker  &  Arthur  told  them  all  about  it.  They  at  once  told 
them  that  her  wrongs  should  be  righted.  A  suit  was  brought 
against  the  railway  company  in  her  behalf  in  Judge  Rockwell's 
court  in  Brooklyn.  Public  sentiment  waa  still  on  the  side  of 
the  slaveholder,  however,  and  even  the  judge  was  prejudiced. 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  307 

When  Mr.  Arthur  handed  him  the  papers  in  the  case  he  said  : 
"  Pshaw  !  do  you  ask  me  to  try  a  case  against  a  corporation  for 
the  wrongful  act  of  its  agent  ?"  Mr.  Arthur  immediately  pointed 
out  a  section  of  the  Revised  Statutes  under  which  the  action 
had  been  brought,  making  the  corporation  liable  for  the  acts  of 
its  servants.  It  could  not  be  disputed,  and  upon  trial  of  the 
case,  judgment  in  favor  of  Lizzie  Jennings  to  the  amount  of 
$500  was  rendered.  Without  further  contest  the  railroad  com- 
pany paid  the  $500.  It  then  issued  orders  to  its  conductors 
that  colored  people  should  be  allowed  to  ride  on  the  cars.  All 
the  city  railroad  companies  followed  the  example.  The 
"  Colored  People's  Legal  Rights  Association  "  annually  for 
years  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Arthur 
conducted  and  won  this  celebrated  case. 


CHAPTER  m. 

FIRST   STEPS   IN  POLITICS. 

IT  was  in  the  year  1856  that  Mr.  Arthur  began  to  be  prominent 
in  politics  in  New  York  City.  He  had  taken  an  active  interest 
in  politics  at  a  very  early  age.  He  sympathized  with  the  Whig 
Party  and  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Henry  Clay.  It  is  related 
of  him  that  during  the  contest  between  Polk  and  Clay,  he  was 
the  leader  of  the  boys  of  Whig  parentage  in  Greenwich  village, 
who  determined  to  raise  an  ash  pole  iu  honor  of  Henry  Clay. 
They  were  attacked  by  the  boys  of  Democratic  parentage  while 
doing  so,  and  for  a  time  driven  off  the  village  green.  But  they 
were  rallied  by  young  Arthur,  and  he  leading  a  desperate 
charge,  the  Democrats  were  driven  with  broken  heads  from  the 
field.  Then,  with  a  shout  of  triumph,  the  Whig  boys  raised  the 
ash  pole.  His  first  vote  was  cast  in  1852 — for  Winfield  Scott 
for  President.  In  New  York  City  Mr.  Arthur  icK'uf  !•"<-;]  him- 


308  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

self  with  the  "  practical  men"  in  politics  by  joining  political 
associations  of  his  party  and  sitting  at  the  polls  and  acting  as 
inspector  of  election  on  election  day.  A  far  higher  class  of  men 
then  served  as  inspectors  at  most  of  the  polls  in  New  York  City 
on  election  days  than  do  now  in  any  part  of  the  city.  They 
were  regularly  elected  each  year,  and  prominent  ctizens  then 
were  willing  to  serve.  For  many  years  Mr.  Arthur  served  as  an 
inspector  of  elections  at  a  polling-place  in  a  carpenter's  shop  at 
Broadway  and  Twenty-third  Street,  New  York,  the  Hippo- 
drome being  on  the  lower  corner  of  the  same  block.  The  car- 
penter's shop  and  the  Hippodrome  were  removed  to  give  place 
to  the  present  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel.  In  tho  formation  of  the  Re- 
publican Party  Mr.  Arthur  took  a  very  prominent  part.  His 
name  can  be  found  appended  to  many  calls  like  the  following, 
which  was  printed  in  the  New  York  Herald  at  the  opening  of 
the  campaign  of  1856  : 

"  Eighteenth  Ward  Young  Men's  Fremont  Vigilance  Com- 
mittee. Grand  rally.  The  first  public  meeting  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Eighteenth  Ward  Young  Men's  Fremont  Vigilance  Com- 
mittee will  be  held  at  the  Deruilt  Dispensary,  corner  of  Twenty- 
third  Street  and  Second  Avenue,  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  8th 
inst.,  at  7.30,  which  will  be  addressed  by  A.  Oakey  Hall,  Esq..  of 
this  city,  and  Joseph,!.  Couch,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn.  The  Fremont 
and  Dayton  Glee  Club  will  be  in  attendance.  A 11  are  invited  to 
attend.  Executive  Committee :  John  H.  Burleson,  William  D. 
Chase,  George  T.  Strong,  Henry  D.  Sedgwick,  Joseph  Wales, 
Samuel  Brown,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  Richard  T.  Deming,  John 
A.  Foster,  Henry  G.  Hallock,  Curtis  Beane,  Benjamin  F.  Ma- 
nierre,  Peter  T.  Woodbury,  Charles  E.  Strong.'' 

He  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  at  Saratoga  that  founded 
the  Republican  Party.  During  these  political  labors  he  became 
acquainted  with  Edwin  D.  Morgan  and  gained  his  ardent 
friendship.  Mr.  Morgan,  when  re-elected  Governor  in  1860. 
testified  to  his  high  esteem  for  Mr/  Arthur  by  nriking  him  E;;- 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  309 

gineer-in-Chief  on  his  staff.  Mr.  Arthur  had  for  several  years 
previously  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  militia  organization  of 
the  State  and  had  been  appointed  Judge  Advocate  General  of 
the  Second  Brigade.  In  this  position  he  was  associated  with 
many  men  who  took  part  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  after- 
ward and  held  high  positons.  Brigadier-General  Yates,  who 
commanded  the  Second  Brigade,  was  a  very  thorough  discipli- 
narian, and  for  several  years  required  all  the  brigade  and  staff 
officers  to  meet  every  week  for  instruction.  They  in  this  manner 
became  very  proficient  in  military  tactics  and  regulations,  and 
the  instruction  proved  to  be  of  inestimable  advantage  to  Gen- 
eral Arthur  in  the  great  and  exceedingly  responsible  duties  to 
which  he  was  soon  to  be  called. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NEW   YORK'S    SECRET AKT    OF   "WAS. 

THE  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  in  April, 
1861,  found  him  still  Engineer-in-Chief.  It  was  a  merely  orna- 
mental office,  and  he  probably  never  imagined  he  would  do  a 
day's  duty  in  the  position.  The  day  after  Fort  Sumter  was 
fired  upon,  while  on  his  way  to  his  law  office,  he  received  a 
dispatch  from  Governor  Morgan  summoning  him  to  Albany. 
IJpon  reaching  there  Governor  Morgan  directed  him  to  open  a 
branch  Quartermaster's  Department  in  New  York  City,  and  to 
fulfil  all  the  duties  there  of  Quartermaster  General.  General 
Arthur  was  young,  strong,  and  as  Governor  Morgan  saw,  of  a 
vigorous  nature.  The  Governor  put  in  his  hands  the  duty  of 
quartering,  subsisting,  uniforming,  equipping,  and  arming  New 
York's  soldiers  for  the  war.  It  was  not  only  a  herculean  task, 
but  was  one  of  special  difficulty,  for  there  was  no  broad  road 
of  experience  to  guide  the  young  man.  There  had  been  no  war 


310  LIFE  OF  CHP:STER  A.  ARTHUR. 

for  many  years,  and  moreover,  this  one  was  palpably  to  be  pros- 
ecuted on  a  scale,  in  regard  to  the  number  of  men  engaged  in  it, 
of  "which  no  American  could  have  a  conception  who  had  not 
been  an  eye-witness  of  some  recent  European  war.  Men  who 
had  been  trained  in  the  small  regular  army,  or  in  the  Btill 
smaller  State  militia  regiments,  were  staggered  by  the  enor- 
mous tasks  set  before  them  in  the  equipment  and  forwarding  of 
several  hundred  thousand  men  to  the  seat  of  war.  There  was 
nothing  for  which  General  Arthur  afterward  received  higher 
praise  than  the  way  he  rose  to  the  height  of  the  occasion  in  all 
difficulties  that  beset  him  in  the  toilsome  years  which  followed. 
He  was  the  brains,  the  organizing  force;  that  took  the  raw 
levies  of  New  York,  put  uniforms  on  their  backs,  muskets  in 
their  hands,  and  sent  them  on  to  the  war.  Governor  Morgan 
practically  made  him  the  "War  Minister  of  the  State,  shifting 
him  from  place  to  place  on  his  staff,  and  from  time  to  time  trans- 
ferring to  him  the  dutes  of  other  military  officers  of  the  State, 
in  order  that  the  work  might  be  properly  done.  He  was  vir- 
tually the  centre  round  which  all  the  military  operations  of  the 
State  revolved.  He  did  not  go  near  his  law  office  during  the 
first  two  years  of  the  war.  It  was  the  creation  of  a  great  de- 
partment for  the  provision  of  an  army,  out  of  nothing  ;  but  he 
succeeded  and  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  seeing  that  New 
York  had  sent  one-fifth  of  all  the  soldiers  that  marched  to  sub- 
due the  Rebellion — a  splendid  contingent  of  690,000  men. 

It  is  well  to  relate  what  he  did  in  detail.  When  he  began  in 
New  York,  in  April,  1861,  to  perform  the  work  of  Quartermaster 
General,  there  were  thousands  of  enlisted  men  in  the  city  to  be 
fed  and  equipped,  the  militia  regiments  were  departing  for  the 
war  from  this  State,  and  New  England  regiments  were  passing 
through  the  city.  All  these  regiments  had  to  be  fed  and  quar- 
ters provided  for  them — where  none  existed.  Wealthy  citizrns 
of  New  York  aided  General  Arthur  generously  ;  giving  him  the 
rurht  to  occupy  their  buildings.  Mr.  Astor,  Mr.  Devlin,  and 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  311 

Mr.  Goclet  were  conspicuous  in  this  service.  The  number  of 
troops  passing  through  the  city  finally  became  so  great  that  it 
was  found  necessary  to  provide  more  quarters  for  them.  Then 
it  was  that  barracks  were  erected  in  the  City  Hall  Park.  To 
get  them  ready  for  the  troops,  workmen  under  General  Arthur's 
direction  worked  night  and  day.  The  populace  thought  that 
the  war  would  be  over  in  thirty  days,  and  the  bai racks  be  re- 
moved. But  the  barracks  remained  there  four  year?,  01  till 
the  end  of  the  war,  the  latter  part  of  the  time  being  used  as  a 
hospital.  Meanwhile  the  work  of  creating  a  Quartermaster's 
Department  went  on.  General  Arthur  advertised  for  proposals 
for  subsistence  for  the  troops,  and  succeeded  in  making  a  con- 
tract at  rates  one-third  lower  than  those  of  the  United  States 
Government.  This  saved  the  State  many  thousands  of  dollars. 
Everything  was  done  in  a  business-like  way  ;  the  quarter- 
master's stores  were  issued  on  regular  army  requisitions  and  re- 
ceipts were  demanded  for  everything.  The  result  of  his  care 
was  that  although  the  accounts  of  the  State  of  New  York  with 
the  United  States  Government  were  very  much  greater  than 
those  of  any  other  State,  his  accounts  were  the  first  audited 
:md  allowed  at  Washington.  Not  a  dollar  was  deducted  from 
them,  whereas  the  accounts  of  some  other  States  were  cut  down 
fi  m  $1,000,000  to  $10,000,000.  It  was  natural  that  contract- 
ors should  seek  to  ingratiate  themselves  with  a  man  who  was 
buying  such  enormous  quantities  of  supplies.  But  every  present 
that  reached  him  with  this  motive  was  at  once  returned  to  the 
sender.  A  great  clothing  firm  proffered  him  a  costly  saddle 
and  trappings — they  were  contemptuously  returned.  He  was  a 
comparatively  poor  man  when  he  became  Quartermaster  Gen- 
eral— he  was  far  poorer  when  he  gave  up  the  office.  Some  of 
the  greatest  contracts  ever  made  in  America  were  under  his  di- 
rection and  control.  The  interests  of  the  Government,  how- 
ever, were  treated  as  though  they  were  his  interests.  A  friend 
describing  his  course  at  this  period  says  :  "So  jealous  was  he 


C12  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.- 

of  his  integrity  that  I  have  known  instances  where  he  could  have 
made  thousands  of  dollars  legitimately,  and  yet  he  refused  to 
do  it  on  the  ground  that  he  was  a  public  officer  and  meant  to 
be  like  Caesar's  wife,  '  above  suspicion.'  " 


CHAPTER  V. 

WAR   DIFFICULTIES   MASTEKED. 

THE  troops  poured  into  New  York  by  the  thousand,  and  it 
was  found  necessary  every  day  to  provide  additional  quarters. 
General  Arthur  built  more  barracks  at  various  places  on  Long 
Island,  on  Staten  Island,  and  Riker's  Island.  The  first  quota 
of  the  State,  outside  of  the  militia  regiments,  was  for  thirty- 
eight  regiments.  These  regiments  were  organized  in  different 
parts  of  the  State  in  the  spring  of  1861.  The  work  of  quarter- 
ing, subsisting,  uniforming,  equipping,  and  arming  these  regi- 
ments went  on  without  regard  to  Sunday  or  the  hours  of  sleep. 
For  several  months  General  Arthur  did  not  sleep  over  three 
hours  a  night.  Whoever  had  any  business  connected  with  the 
army  came  to  the  State  headquarters  in  Elm  Street  (afterward 
in  Walker  Street),  and  consequently  General  Arthur's  office  was 
constantly  besieged  by  crowds.  All  sorts  of  adventurers 
went  on  to  Washington,  obtained  commissions  to  raise  troops, 
and  returning  to  New  York,  began  their  work.  All  these  classes 
required  supervision  from  General  Arthur,  as  they  would  en- 
deavor to  act  independently  of  his  office.  His  ability  to  deal  with 
these  men,  many  of  whom  were  of  a  very  rough  character,  was 
highly  praised  at  the  time.  Several  instances  of  his  energetic 
action  are  remembered  to  this  day.  One  of  the  adventurers  was 
"  Billy  "  Wilson,  who  had  been  the  representative  in  the  New 
York  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the  roughest  element  of  the  city 
population,  and  who  had  been  authorized  at  Washington  to  raise 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  313 

a  regiment  from  this  class.  The  regiment  at  one  time  refused  to 
eat  the  Government  rations  and  supported  itself  by  raiding  on 
the  restaurants  in  the  vicinity  of  its  barracks.  General  Arthur, 
hearing  of  these  outrages,  sent  for  Wilson,  and  told  him  that  he 
must  put  an  end  to  them.  Wilson  thereupon  said,  in  an  impu- 
dent manner  : 

"  Neither  you  nor  the  Governor  has  anything  to  do  with  me. 
I  am  a  colonel  in  the  United  States  service,  and  you've  got  no 
right  to  order  me." 

"  You  are  not  a  colonel,"  indignantly  replied  General  Ar- 
thur, "  and  you  will  not  be  until  you  have  raised  your  regiment 
to  its  quota  of  men  and  received  your  commission." 

"Well,  I've  got  my  shoulder-straps,  anyway,"  said  Wilson, 
"  and  as  long  as  I  wear  them,  I  don't  want  no  orders  from  any 
of  you  fellows." 

He  had  scarcely  made  this  insolent  reply,  when  General  Ar- 
thur, who  is  a  very  strong  man,  sprang  toward  him,  saying  : 

"  We'll  make  short  work  of  your  shoulder-straps,"  and  tear- 
ing the  straps  from  Wilson's  shoulders,  put  him  under  arrest. 

General  Arthur  had  a  similar  experience  with  Colonel  Ells- 
worth's Fire  Zouaves,  who  were  quartered  in  Devlin's  building 
on  Canal  Street.  One  day  the  members  of  the  regiment  re- 
fused to  unpack  their  muskets.  General  Arthur  having  been 
applied  to  by  Colonel  Ellsworth,  went  among  the  throng  with 
several  policemen,  had  the  ringleaders  in  the  revolt  pointed 
out  to  him,  and  said  :  "  Arrest  that  man,  and  that  one,  and 
that  one."  Hia  orders  were  obeyed,  the  regiment  was  cowed, 
and  there  were  no  more  revolts  of  that  nature.  The  regiment 
had  an  amusing  experience  on  starting  for  the  war.  It  was  or- 
ganized on  the  very  original  plan  of  having  attached  to  it  a 
batter}7  of  light  artillery  and  a  troop  of  cavalry.  Furthermore, 
it  had  120  men  to  the  company,  being  more  than  the  regulation 
complement.  The  War  Department  sent  orders  to  Governor 
Morgan  that  the  regiment  should  not  be  mustered  into  the  ser- 


314  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

vice  or  leave  the  city  until  it  had  equalised  or  reduced  its  com- 
panies. But  that  very  day  the  regiment,  1300  strong,  had  re- 
ceived a  stand  of  colors  from  Mrs.  Astor,  in  Canal  Street,  and 
was  on  its  way  to  the  Baltic  steamer  to  take  passage  for  the 
South.  General  Wool  had  reviewed  the  regiment,  and  induced 
by  the  persuasion  of  the  officers  of  the  regiment,  had  rescinded 
the  order  for  its  detention.  The  regiment  had  then  marched 
proudly  to  the  troop-ship,  which  soon  afterward  steamed 
down  the  harbor.  An  hour  after  the  steamer  had  sailed  an 
officer  strolled  into  the  Elm  Street  headquarters  and  said  acci- 
dentally : 

"  Well,  the  Fire  Zouaves  have  got  off  at  last." 
"Got  off!"  said  General  Arthur,  in  amazement;  "that's 
not  possible.  Orders  have  been  received  from  Washington, 
forbidding  them  to  leave,  and  there  is  not  a  pound  of  pvovi, 
sions  of  any  sort  on  the  troop-ship,  as  I  countermanded  the 
order  which  had  been  given." 

It  was  clear  that  the  regiment  must  be  fed  at  short  notice. 
General  Arthur  jumped  into  a  carriage,  drove  to  an  army  con- 
tractor, and  ordered  the  rations.  "  Impossible  to  supply  them 
at  such  short  notice,"  said  the  contractor.  "  It  is  not  impos- 
sible, and  you  must  do  it.  I  will  pay  you  fifty  cents,  instead 
of  the  usual  rate  of  thirty-five  cents  a  ration,  and  will  have 
them  transported  myself  to  the  Baltic."  Stimulated  by  this 
reward,  the  contractor  got  together  five  days'  rations  for  1300 
men  in  two  hours.  General  Arthur,  meanwhile,  had  hired 
every  tug  he  could  obtain.  He  put  the  rations  on  these  tugs, 
caught  up  with  the  Baltic  at  the  Narrows — where  the  regimental 
officers  had  discovered  the  deficiency,  and  stopped  the  ship — 
and  provisioned  the  ship.  The  ship  sailed  the  same  night. 
The  regiment  was  again  insubordinate,  when  it  was  encamped 
at  Washington  after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  was  ordered 
back  to  New  York,  and  quartered  in  tents  on  the  Battery. 
There  the  men  refused  to  obey  the  officers,  and  wandered 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  315 

about  the  city  like  marauders,  stealing  food  in  the  restaurants, 
as  had  Wilson's  Zouaves.  General  Arthur  (then  Inspector 
General)  was  directed  to  disband  them  ;  but  he  thought  some- 
thing could  yet  be  done  with  them.  With  the  aid  of  the  police 
he  arrested  every  soldier  of  the  regiment  found  wandering 
about  the  city  and  had  him  taken  on  board  a  transport  ship 
which  he  had  procured  to  be  placed  in  the  harbor,  and  impris- 
oned. When  he  had  thus  "  hived  "  four  hundred  of  them,  the 
ship  sailed  for  Hampton  Roads.  There  the  regiment  was  con- 
solidated with  another  and  put  under  the  strict  discipline  of 
General  Wool,  and  subsequently  did  good  service  in  the  war. 

The  "  Ulster  County  Guards,''  in  which  the  present  General 
George  H.  Sharpe  was  a  captain,  was  a  regiment  of  far  higher 
character.  It  was  composed  of  rrfen  from  the  finest  families  of 
Ulster  County.  On  their  way  to  Washington  they  occupied  the 
Park  Barracks  on  the  night  they  were  completed.  They  had 
hardly  got  possession  before  orders  came  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  Governor  Morgan  that  the  regiment  should  return  home, 
as  no  more  three-months  regiments  were  to  be  accepted.  The 
regiment  was  almost  beside  itself  with  rage  and  disappoint- 
ment. Thereupon  General  Arthur  took  a  night  train  for 
Albany,  described  to  Governor  Morgan  the  martial  character  of 
the  regiment,  and  the  damaging  effect  of  its  being  compelled  to 
return  home,  and  insisted  upon  its  being  sent  on  to  Washington. 
He  obtained  the  necessary  permission  and  returned  to  New 
York  by  a  special  train.  He  reached  the  barracks  at  one  A.M. 
and  told  the  good  news.  The  joy  of  the  regiment  was  inde- 
scribable. A  volunteer  regiment  was  thus  saved  the  service, 
for  nearly  all  re-enlisted  for  three  years  at  the  end  of  their  three 
months'  service.  The  regiment,  throughout  the  war,  named  its 
camps  "  Camp  Arthur  "  in  gratitude  for  this  service  of  General 
Arthur.  It  was  his  ivadiness  to  deal  with  such  matters  that 
led  Governor  Morgan  to  intrust  General  Arthur  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  war  affairs  of  the  State.  As  the  immediate  repre- 


316  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

sentative  of  Governor  Morgan  he  became  known  to  army  officers 
from  every  section  and  this  was  the  foundation  of  his  lurge 
personal  acquaintance  in  the  State. 

In  the  fall  of  1861,  after  38  regiments  had  been  furnished,  it 
was  seen  that  the  Government  would  be  glad  to  accept  troops 
without  limit  ;  and  as  the  State  had  furnished  the  full  quota  of 
those  regularly  called  for  through  the  Governor,  numbers  of  men 
of  desperate  fortunes,  adventurers,  went  on  to  Washington  and 
obtained  authority  to  raise  regiments.  They  came  to  New 
York  and  began  to  raise  troops,  claiming  to  be  independent  of 
State  authority.  There  wer,e  parts  of  over  a  hundred  regiments 
being  raised  at  one  time.  General  Arthur  made  an  investiga- 
tion as  to  the  character  of  these  adventurers,  and  found  that 
many  of  them  were  men  of  bad  antecedents.  One  of  them  who 
afterward  adorned  Ludlow  Street  Jail,  advertised  for  "  young 
gentlemen  of  pious  character  "  for  his  regiment,  and  sold  com- 
missions in  the  regiment.  Another  hired  the  old  New  York 
Club  House,  then  vacant — ordered  a  service  of  plate,  furnished 
the  house  handsomely,  and  ran  into  debt  to  tradesmen  all  over 
the  city,  ostensibly  in  behalf  of  the  regiment.  These  men  defied 
the  authority  of  the  State  officers.  General  Arthur  advised 
Governor  Morgan  to  claim  from  the  United  States  Government 
supervision  over  all  the  troops  raised  in  New  York  ;  and  for 
this  purpose  to  obtain  the  office  of  major-general  in  the  United 
States  service.  Governor  Morgan,  accompanied  by  General 
Arthur,  went  on  to  Washington.  There  General  Arthur  depict- 
ed to  the  War  Department  officials  the  character  of  the  men 
they  had  commissioned.  The  officials  were  amazed  and  readily 
consented  to  the  suggestion  that  Governor  Morgan  should  be 
made  a  major-general,  that  a  Department  of  New  York  should 
be  established,  and  that  all  the  independent  organizations 
should  be  put  under  Governor  Morgan's  authority.  Thenceforth 
there  were  no  more  disputes  as  to  authority  in  New  York  ;  and 
the  example  set  by  this  State,  was  followed  by  all  the  other 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  31? 

loyal  States  in  raising  troops  for  the  war.  At  this  time  General 
Arthur  was  acting  Adjutant-General  of  New  York  ;  and  was 
also  actually  doing  the  work  of  the  Engineer-in-Chief,  Inspector 
General,  and  Quartermaster-General.  As  Inspector  General,  he 
afterward  consolidated  the  odds  and  ends  of  regiments  spoken 
of  before. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

TERRORS    OF    WAR    TIMES. 

IT  was  while  Inspector  General  that  he  had  an  exciting  and 
amusing  experience.  One  Sunday  in  March,  1862,  there  came 
hurrying  into  his  office,  almost  breathless,  and  flushed  a  deep  red, 
General  Gustavus  Loomis,  the  oldest  regular  infantry  officer  in 
the  service. 

"  What  in  the  world  has  happened,  General  ?"  said  General 
Arthur,  offering  the  aged  officer  a  chair. 

"  The  rebel  ram  Merrimac  !  the  rebel  ram  Merrimac, "  faintly 
said  General  Loomis.  • 

"  Well,  what  about  her  ?" 

"  I  have  a  despatch  from  General  McClellan  saying  that  she 
has  sunk  two  United  States  ships — that  she  is  coming  to  New 
York  to  shell  the  city — may  be  expected  at  any  moment — I'm 
so  out  of  breath  running  to  tell  you  the  news  I  can  hardly 
speak." 

"  Running  to  tell  me  the  news  !  Why  on  earth  didn't  you 
hire  a  carriage  ?' ' 

"  Hire  a  carriage,"  answered  Loomis  with  apparent  horror  ; 
"  hire  a  carriage  !  why  that  would  cost  me  $2.50.  I  can't  afford 
to  spend  so  much  out  of  my  own  pocket,  and  if  I  made  such  an 
extraordinary  expenditure  on  account  of  the  Government  it 
would  take  all  the  rest  of  my  official  life  to  explain  why  I  did 


318  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

General  Arthur  thought  that  General  Loomis  did  not  realize 
"  that  time  was  worth  a  million  an  hour  at  such  a  time,"  and 
sent  out  for  several  carriages  while  reading  the  following 
dispatch  from  General  M'Clellan  : 

"WAR  DEPARTMENT,  Washington,  March  9,  1862. 
' '  Commanding  Officer,  New  York  Harbor  : 

"  The  rebel  iron-clad  steamer  Merrimac  has  destroyed  two  of 
our  frigates  near  Fortress  Monroe,  and  finally  retired  tast  night  to 
Craney  Island.  She  may  succeed  in  passing  the  batteries  and  go 
to  sea.  It  is  necessary  that  you  at  once  place  your  post  in  the 
best  possible  condition  for  defence  and  do  your  best  to  stop 
her  should  she  endeavor  to  run  by.  Anything  that  can  be 
effected  in  the  way  of  temporary  batteries  should  be  done  at 
once. 

"  G.  B.  MCCLELLAN,  Major-General." 

He  then  took  a  carriage  and  speeding  to  General  Sandford, 
got  him  to  detail  artillerists  from  the  militia  regiments  in  the 
city  who  had  been  trained  to  the  use  of  heavy  guns  to  the  forts 
in  the  harbor,  General  Loomis  having  reported  that  the  forts 
were  filled  with  recruits  who  didn't  know  how  to  handle  the 
guns.  It  was  reported  also  that  there  was  no  powder  in  the 
forts  ;  but  fortunately  a  schooner  arrived  from  Connecticut 
loaded  with  powder  that  day,  and  General  Arthur  sent  it  down 
the  harbor  to  the  forts.  He  also  went  to  the  house  of  Mayor 
Opdyke,  to  inform  him  of  the  situaton.  As  General  Arthur 
drove  up  Fifth  AT,  enue  to  the  Mayor's  residence  on  that  pleas- 
ant Sunday  afternoon  and  saw  the  gayly-dressed  throngs  going 
to  church,  he  thought  with  horror  of  what  might  be  their  fate  if 
the  city  should  be  bombarded  by  the  Merrimac.  Mayor  Opdyke. 
on  receiving  General  Arthur's  alarming  news,  summoned  to  his 
house  many  eminent  citizens.  They  proposed  to  sink  ships 
loaded  with  stone  in  the  Narrows,  and  thus  bar  the  approach  of 
the  Merrimac  to  the  city.  General  Arthur  protested  that  he 
would  have  nothing:  to  do  with  such  a  scheme.  The  council 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  319 

broke  up  without  adopting  any  plan  for  the  protection  of  the 
city.  Fortunately  for  New  York,  news  came  during  the  night 
that  the  Monitor  had  reached  Hampton  Roads  that  day  and 
had  sunk  the  Merrimac. 

This  was  not  the  first  occasion  when  General  Arthur  had  to 
do  with  the  defence  of  the  seaport  of  New  York  during  the 
war.  When  Mason  and  Slidell  were  taken  from  the  Trent  by 
Captain  Wilkes,  and  war  seemed  imminent  with  England,  one 
day  in  December,  1861,  General  Arthur  was  summoned  to 
Albany  in  his  capacity  of  Engineer-in-Chief.  He  knew  that  he 
had  been  summoned  to  receive  orders  regarding  the  defence  of 
New  York.  He  also  knew  that  the  forts  of  masonry  in  New- 
York  harbor  were  practically  obsolete  before  modern  naval  can- 
non ;  that  most  of  the  cannon  in  them  were  "  shell  guns,"  i.e., 
unsafe  to  fire.  On  reaching  Albany  he  stated  to  Governor  Mor- 
gan that,  not  being  an  engineer,  he  came  to  resign  his  position  in 
order  that  some  eminent  engineer  might  be  appointed.  Gover- 
nor Morgan  replied  that  there  were  plenty  of  engineers,  but  that 
for  the  present  duty  he  preferred  to  keep  a  man  of  the  energy, 
skill,  and  executive  ability  of  his  present  Engineer-in-Chief, 
Governor  Morgan  insisting  upon  his  keeping  the  office,  General 
Arthur  set  about  his  task.  On  December  24th,  1861,  he  sum- 
moned together  a  Board  of  the  most  eminent  engineers  in  the 
State  ;  requesting  them  to  meet  him  in  New  York  two  days 
later  to  consult  about  the  defences  of  the  harbor.  For  two 
months  this  board,  of  which  General  Arthur  was  a  member, 
labored  constantly,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  produced  a  plan 
for  the  defence  of  the  harbor  which  won  universal  praise.  The 
plan  is  still  in  existence  and  may  be  of  great  value  to  New  York 
in  some  emergency.  Before  its  completion,  war  with  England 
seeming  at  hand,  the  erection  of  a  temporary  barrier  across  the 
harbor  was  proposed.  Colonel  Delafield,  of  the  United  States 
Engineers,  had  suggested  that  it  would  be  practicable  to  con- 
struct a  barrier  consisting  of  floats  loaded  with  stone,  and  con- 


3*0  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 

nected  and  held  iu  place  by  chain  cables.  An  immense  amount 
of  timber  was  needed  for  such  a  barrier  and  there  was  no  State 
.appropriation  with  which  to  buy  it.  General  Arthur  took  upon 
himself  the  responsbility  of  buying  it.  He  went  to  Albany  and 
in  a  day  had  the  refus.al  of  all  the  timber  there  and  along  the 
river.  The  purchase  was  made  so  quietly  and  secretly  that  the 
price  of  lumber  did  not  advance.  He  also  made  a  contract  for 
the  timber  being  rafted  down  the  Hudson.  Unluckily,  the  day 
after  the  purchase  was  made  the  Hudson  froze  up,  and  it  was 
therefore  plain  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  deliver  it  before 
spring.  Undaunted,  General  Arthur  returned  immediately  to 
New  York  and  bought  up  most  of  the  timber  there.  'Before  the 
barrier  could  be  erected,  however,  Mason  and  Slidell  were  sur- 
rendered to  England  and  all  danger  of  war  passed  away.  But 
the  State  had  upon  its  hands  the  immense  quantity  of  timber 
General  Arthur  had  bought,  and  grumblers  severely  criticised 
the  purchase  in  the  State  Senate.  General  Arthur  having  been 
sent  for  by  the  Governor  to  advise  about  the  disposition  of  the 
timber,  went  to  Albany  and  had  a  bill  then  before  the  Legis- 
lature in  regard  to  war  expenditures  amended  so  as  to  provide 
for  the  sale  of  unused  war  material.  The  bill  passed,  was  at 
once  signed  by  Governor  Morgan,  and  the  timber  was  sold  soon 
afterward  at  a  profit  to  the  State. 

Immediately  after  his  convening  of  the  Board  of  Engineers  to 
consider  the  defence  of  the  harbor  of  New  York,  General  Arthur 
made  a  thorough,  while  rapid,  inspection  of  all  the  forts  and 
defences  in  the  State,  both  on  the  seacoast  and  inland  border. 
He  wrote  an  admirable  report  to  the  Legislature  of  this  inspec- 
tion, which  was  submitted  to  that  body  January  18th,  1862,  or  a 
little  more  than  three  weeks  after  his  attention  was  called  to 
the  subject  by  Governor  Morgan.  In  this  report  the  armament 
of  every  fort  is  described,  and  its  condition  for  defence  stated 
with  the  minutest  details.  The  New  York  Herald,  of  January  25th, 
1862,  says  editorially  :  "  The  report  of  the  Engineer-in-Chief, 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  321 

General  Arthur,  which  appeared  in  yesterday's  Herald,  is  one  of 
the  most  important  and  valuable  documenits  that  has  been  this 
year  presented  to  our  Legislatxire.  It  deserves  perusal,  not  only 
an  account  of  the  careful  analysis  it  contains  of  the  condition 
of  the  forts,  but  because  the  recommendations  with  which  it 
closes  coincide  precisely  with  the  wishes  of  the  administration 
with  respect  to  securing  a  full  and  complete  defence  of  the 
entire  Northern  coast. 

In  February,  1862,  General  Arthur  was  appointed  Inspector 
General,  there  being  duty  to  do  in  the  array  In  May,  1862,  he 
went  to  Fredericksburg,  and  inspected  the  New  York  troops  there 
under  the  command  of  General  McDowell.  From  there  he  went 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  then  on  the  Chickahominy,  and 
carefully  inspected  the  New  York  troops  there,  with  a  view  of 
having  the  depleted  regiments  then  in  service  filled  by  enlist- 
ments to  their  proper  strength,  instead  of  having  new 
regiments  raised.  As  an  advance  on  Richmond  was  then 
daily  expected,  General  Arthur  volunteered  for  duty  on  the 
staff  of  his  friend,  Major-General  Hunt,  commander  of  the 
reserve  artillery.  It  is  well  to  state  here  that  shortly  after 
the  commencement  of  the  wrar  General  Arthur  was  elected  Col- 
onel of  the  Ninth  New  York  Militia,  which  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  service  for  two  years,  and  desired  to  accept  the 
post,  but  Governor  Morgan  would  not  release  hjm  from  the  more 
important  work.  The  year  afterward,  when  four  regiments 
had  been  formed  through  the  efforts  of  the  Metropolitan  Police 
Commissioners  of  the  City  of  New  York,  in  which  they  were 
largely  aided  by  General  Arthur,  the  colonels  of  the  regiments 
offered  him  the  command  of  the  brigade,  known  as  the  "  Metro- 
politan Brigade."  He  thereupon  made  formal  application  to 
the  Governor  for  permission  to  accept  the  command,  saying 
that  it  had  long  been  his  desire  to  have  active  service  in  the 
field.  Governor  Morgan  replied  that  he  could  not  be  spared 
from  the  service  of  the  State,  and  that  while  he  appreciated 


322  IJFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

General  Arthur's  desire  for  war  service,  he  knew  he  would  do 
far  more  valuable  service  for  the  country  by  continuing  at  his 
post  of  duty  in  New  York  State. 


CHAPTER  VH. 

ABMING   SIXTY   THOUSAND  MEN. 

IN  June,  1862,  the  affairs  of  the  country  looked  desperate. 
There  had  been  defeats,  regiments  were  getting  thinned  out, 
and  it  was  evident  a  great  levy  would  have  to  be  made.  Govev 
nor  Morgan  telegraphed  General  Arthur,  then  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  to  return  to  New  York.  He  did  so,  and  was  im- 
mediately requested  to  act  as  secretary  at  a  secret  meeting  of 
the  Governors  of  loyal  States,  held  at  the  Astor  House  on  July 
28th,  1862.  At  this  meeting  President  Lincoln  was  requested 
by  the  Governors  to  call  for  more  men.  President  Lincoln,  on 
July  1st,  issued  a  proclamation  thanking  the  Governors  for  their 
patriotism  and  calling  for  300,000  volunteers  and  300,000  mi- 
litia for  nine  months'  service.  Private  knowledge,  that  such  a 
call  was  to  be  issued  would  have  enabled  contractors  to  have 
made  millions.  General  Arthur  was  approached  by  one  of 
these  men,  and  an  interest  offered  him  in  immense  contracts  if 
he  would  reveal  what  had  been  done.  The  secret  was  kept  by 
all,  however,  till  the  proclamation  was  issued.  The  quota  of 
New  York  under  the  call  for  300,000  volunteers  was  59,705. 
It  was  desired  that  these  sixty  regiments  should  be.  recruited 
and  got  to  the  seat  of  war  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  In 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the  labor  would  fall 
upon  the  Quartermaster's  Department,  the  request  was  made 
by  Governor  Morgan  to  General  Arthur  that  he  should  take  his 
old  post  as  Quartermaster  General.  General  Arthur  complied 
on  July  7th,  1S62,  and  set  energetically  to  work.  He  devised 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  323 

a  new  system  for  enlisting  and  caring  for  the  troops,  which  was 
found  to  work  very  successfully.  He  established  a  camp  in 
each  one  of  the  thirty-two  Senatorial  districts  of  the  State.  The 
Governor  had  provided  for  the  appointment  of  committees 
of  prominent  citizens  from  both  political  parties,  in  each  dis- 
trict, to  stimulate  recruiting.  This  the  committees  did  by  hold- 
ing public  meetings.  The  State  fairly  resounded  with  the  din 
of  war-meetings.  At  this  time  a  new  system  for  the  recruiting 
and  organization  of  the  regiments  enlisted  at  the  several  camps 
was  suggested  to  the  War  Department  by  General  Arthur, 
which  was  approved  and  put  in  operation.  All  previous  regiments 
recruited  had  been  for  months  during  the  enlistment,  a  disor- 
ganized body  of  men  dressed  in  civilian  garb — until  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service.  General  Arthur  now  changed  all 
this.  He  recommended  that  the  executive  officers  of  each  regi- 
ment being  raised — the  adjutant,  quartermaster,  and  surgeon — 
be  at  the  outset  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  so  have  complete  authority  and  control  in  their  respective 
departments  to  enforce  military  regulations,  order,  and  disci- 
pline in  the  camp.  The  men,  as  soon  as  enlisted  were  put  in 
uniform  and  subjected  to  the  restraint  and  drill  of  military  life. 
The  camps  immediately  had  a  military  appearance  and  became 
attractive  places  of  resort  to  the  population  surrounding  them 
for  miles.  So  attractive  were  they  to  young  men  that  in  many 
cases  half  a  second  regiment  was  enlistrd  before  the  first  left 
the  camp.  The  quartermasters  of  all  regiments,  as  soon  as  ap- 
pointed, were  required  by  General  Arthur  to  come  to  New  York 
and  were  there,  at  the  office  of  the  Quartermaster  General,  taught 
their  duties.  They  were  informed  of  their  great  responsibilities 
and  shown  how  to  keep  their  accounts.  Large  amounts  were 
thus  saved  the  State,  for  in  other  States  the  accounts  of  the  un- 
instructed  quartermasters  were  so  badly  prepared  that  there 
\vas  great  loss.  General  Arthur  also  had  many  of  the  barrack 
buildings  at  the  various  camps  constructed  by  the  enlisted 


324  LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

men,  thus  saving  a  great  deal  of  money.  The  barracks  erected 
in  the  whole  State  for  this  levy  of  troops  thus  cost  altogether 
only  $27,000.  General  Arthur  made  special  contracts  with  the 
railroads  for  transporting  the  soldiers  to  the  front,  and  in  this 
way  saved  $43,144  to  the  State  from  the  rates  allowed  by  the 
Government.  In  his  annual  report,  dated  January  27th,  1863, 
he  says  : 

"  In  summing  up  the  operations  of  the  department  during 
the  last  levy  of  troops,  I  need  only  state  as  the  result  the  fact 
that  through  the  single  office  and  clothing  department  of  this 
Department  in  the  City  of  New  York,  from  August  1st  to  De- 
cember 1st,  the  space  of  four  months,  there  were  completely 
clothed,  uniformed,  and  equipped,  supplied  with  camp  and  gar- 
rison equipage,  and  transported  from  this  State  to  the  seat  of 
war,  68  regiments  of  infantry,  2  battalions  of  cavalry,  and  4  bat- 
talions and  10  batteries  of  artillery.' 

The  incoming  of  a  Democratic  State  Administration  deprived 
him  of  his  office  in  December,  1863.  His  Democratic  successor 
made  the  following  comment  upon  General  Arthur's  administra- 
tion in  his  annual  report  to  Governor  Seymour  : 

"  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK,  Q.  M.  G.  DEPARTMENT,          ) 
NEW  YORK,  December  31,  1863.  \ 

"  To  Ms  Excellency  HORATIO  SEYMOUR,    Governor,  Commander- 
in-  Chief,  State  of  New  TorTc  : 

' '  GOVERNOR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report 
of  the  operations  of  this  department  since  the  1st  day  of  Janu- 
ary last. 


u  I  found, .upon  entering  on  the  discharge  of  my  duties,  a  well- 
organized  system  of  labor  and  accountability,  for  which  the 
State  is  chiefly  indebted  to  my  predecessor,  General  Chester  A. 
Arthur,  who,  by  his  practical  good  sense  and  unremitting  exer- 
tion, at  a  peiiod  when  everything  was  in  confusion,  reduced  the 
operations  of  the  department  to  a  matured  plan,  by  which  large 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  o25 

amounts  of  money  were  saved  to  the  Government,  and  great 
economy  of  time  secured  in  carrying  out  the  details  of  the  same. 
******* 
"  [Signed.]  S.  V.  TALCOTT, 

"  Quartermaster- General." 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

COLLECTOR  OF  NEW  YORK. 

UPON  his  retirement  from  office  General  Arthur  resumed  the 
active  duties  of  his  profession.  His  partnership  with  Mr.  Gar- 
diner ceased  only  with  that  gentleman's"  death  in  1866.  Alone 
for  over  five  years  he  carried  on  his  business.  It  then  became 
so  large  that  he  formed,  in  1871,  the  now  well-known  firm  of 
Arthur,  Phelps,  Knevals  &  Ransom.  He  became  counsel  to 
the  Department  of  Taxes  and  Assessment,  at  a  salary  of  $10,000 
yearly  ;  but  abruptly  resigned  the  position  when  the  Tammany 
Hall  officials  at  the  head  of  the  New  York  departments  attempt- 
ed to  coerce  the  Republicans  connected  with  those  depart- 
ments. 

Gradually  he  was  drawn  into  political  life  again.  He  was 
very  much  interested  in  promoting  the  first  election  of  Presi- 
dent Grant,  being  chairman  of  the  Central  Grant  Club  of  New 
York.  He  also  served  as  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Republican  State  Committee  of  New  York.  He  re-en- 
tered official  life  on  November  20th,  1871,  being  appointed  Col- 
lector of  the  Port  of  New  York  by  President  Grant.  The  post 
of  Collector  came  to  him  unsought  and  unexpectedly,  and  was 
accepted  with  much  hesitation. 

The  appointment  met  with  the  general  approval  of  the  busi- 
ness community,  many  of  the  merchants  having  become  person- 
ally acquainted  with  General  Arthur  during  the  war.  He  insti- 
tuted many  reforms  in  the  management  of  the  Custom  House, 


326  LIVE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

all  calculated  to  render  contact  with  the  institution  less  vexa- 
tious than  it  ordinarily  is  to  the  mercantile  classes.  He  also 
executed  the  work  of  a  Collector  in  the  matter  of  appointments 
and  removals  in  the  Custom  House  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cause 
less  than  the  usual  amount  of  commotion  among  politicians. 
The  number  of  removals  during  his  administration  was  far  less 
than  during  the  rule  of  any  other  Collector,  since  1857.  New 
appointees  were  put  in  the  loAvest  grades  of  Custom  House 
service  and  compelled  to  work  their  way  up  to  higher  positions,. 
So  satisfactory  was  his  work  that  upon  the  close  of  his  term  of 
office,  in  December,  1875,  he  was  renominated  by  President 
Grant.  The  nomination  was  unanimously  confirmed  by  the 
Senate  without  referring  it  to  a  committee — a  compliment  never 
given  before  except  to  ex-Senators.  He  was  the  first  Collector 
of  the  Port  ever  reappointed  for  a  second  term,  and  was,  with 
only  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  only  one  who  in  fifty  years  ever 
held  the  office  for  more  than  the  whole  term  of  four  years.'  The 
administration  of  President  Hayes  was  deeply  interested  in  civil 
service  reform,  and  sent  a  commission  headed  by  John  Jay  to 
learn  the  operation  of  the  principle  in  the  New  York  Custom 
House.  Commenting  upon  their  report  in  a  letter  to  John 
Sherman,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Collector  Arthur  said  : 

"  The  essential  elements  of  a  correct  civil  service  I  understand 
to  be  :  First,  permanence  in  office,  which,  of  course,  prevents 
removals,  except  for  cause.  Second,  promotion  from  the  lower 
to  the  higher  grades,  based  upon  good  conduct  and  efficiency. 
Third,  prompt  and  thorough  investigation  of  all  complaints  and 
prompt  punishment  of  all  misconduct.  In  this  respect  I  chal- 
lenge comparison  with  any  department  of  the  Government, 
either  under  the  present  or  under  any  past  national  administra- 
tion. I  am  prepared  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment on  any  fair  investigation.'1  In  a  table  which  was  ap- 
pended to  this  letter,  Collector  Arthur  showed  that  during 
rhe  six  years  he  hud  managed  the  office  the  yearly  per- 


LIFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR.  327 

centage  of  removals  for  all  causes  had  been  only  2£  per 
cent,  against  an  annual  average  of  28  per  cent  under  his  three 
immediate  predecessors,  and  an  annual  average  of  about  24  per 
cent,  since  1857,  when  Collector  Schell  took  office.  Out  of  923 
persons  who  held  office  when  he  became  Collector  on  December 
1st,  1871,  there  were  531  still  in  office  on  May  1st,  1877,  having 
been  retained  during  his  entire  term.  Concerning  promotions, 
the  statistics  of  the  office  show  that  during  his  entire  term  the 
uniform  practice  was  to  advance  men  from  the  lower  to  the 
higher  grades,  and  almost  without  exception  on  the  recommen- 
dation of  heads  of  departments.  All  the  appointments,  except 
two,  to  the  100  persons  receiving  over  $2,000  salary  a  year, 
were  made  on  this  method.  The  expense  of  collecting  the 
revenue  was  also  kept  low.  .  Under  Collector  Schell,  from  1857 
to  1861,  the  expense  was  an  average  of  about  .59  per  cent.  ; 
under  Mr.  Barney,  from  1861  to  1865,  about  .87^  per  cent.  ;  un- 
der Mr.  Draper,  in  1864  and  1865,  1.30  per  cent.  ;  under  Mr. 
Smythe,  from  1866  to  1869,  about  .74  per  cent.  ;  under  Mr.  Grin- 
nell,  iu  1869  and  1870,  about  .85  per  cent.  ;  under  Mr.  Murphy, 
in  1870  and  1871,  about  .60  per  cent.  ;  under  Mr.  Arthur,  from 
1871  to  1877,  about  .62  per  cent.  Mr.  Arthur  was  succeeded  as 
Collector  in  1878  by  General  E.  A.  Merritt,  and  has  since  been 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  the  fall  of  1879  he  was 
elected  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee,  and  con- 
ducted the  victorious  campaign  which  ended  in  the  election  of 
all  but  one  of  the  candidates  of  the  Republican  Party  for  six 
State  offices. 

In  June,  1880,  he  was  nominated  for  Vice-President  by 
the  National  Republican  Convention,  held  at  Chicago.  Gene- 
ral Stewart  L.  Wood  ford  proposed  his  name  in  the  conven- 
tion ;  and  the  nomination  was  seconded  by  ex-Governor 
Dennison,  of  Ohio  ;  General  Kilpatrick,  of  New  Jersey  ;  Emery 
A.  Storrs,  of  Illinois  ;  Denis  McCarthy,  of  New  York,  and 
many  others.  Vice-President  Wheeler  in  a  speech  afterward 


328  LTFE  OF  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

said  :  "It  is  my  good  fortune  to  know  well  General  Arthur,  the 
nominee  for  Vice-President.  In  unsullied  character  and  in  de- 
votion to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  Party  no  man  in  the 
organization  surpasses  him.  No  man  has  contributed  more  of 
time  and  means  to  advance  the  just  interests  of  the  Republican 
Party  than  he." 

General  Arthur  was  married  in  1859  to  Ellen  Lewis  Herndon. 
of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Captain 
William  Lewis  Herndon,  U.  S.  N.,  whose  heroic  death,  in  com- 
mand of  the  ill-fated  Central  America  in  1857,  is  remembered  as 
one  of  the  deeds  of  Avhich  the  American  Navy  is  proud.  Cap- 
tain Herndon  discovered  that  his  ship  was  sinking,  loaded  his 
boats  with  women  and  children,  and  calmly  went  down  with  his 
ship.  Over  three  hundred  lives  were  lost.  Mrs.  Arthur  became 
the  mother  of  two  children  :  Chester  Alan  Arthur,  now  aged 
15,  and  Ellen  Herndon  Arthur,  now  aged  8.  It  was  few 
women's  fortune  to  inspire  such  ardent  friendships.  She  had  a 
winning  manner,  a  charming  voice,  and  a  finely-cultivated  mind. 
She  was  the  centre  of  a  refined  circle  of  friends  in  New  York 
when,  to  the  great  grief  of  her  husband,  she  died  in  the  early 
part  of  January,  1880.  Her  funeral  in  New  York  was  attended 
by  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  nation. 


GENERAL  ARTHUR'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 


NEW  YORK,  July  15,  1880. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  accept  the  position  assigned  me  by  the  great 
party  whose  action  you  announce.  .  This  acceptance  implies 
approval  of  the  principles  declared  by  the  convention,  but 
recent  usage  permits  me  to  add  some  expression  of  my  own 
views.  The  right  and  duty  to  secure  honesty  and  order  in 
popular  elections  is  a  matter  so  vital  that  it  must  stand  in  front. 
The  authority  of  the  National  Government  to  preserve  from 
fraud  and  force  elections  at  which  its  own  officers  are  chosen  is 
a  chief  point  on  which  the  two  parties  are  plainly  and  intensely 
opposed.  Acts  of  Congress  for  ten  years  have,  in  New  York  and 
elsewhere,  done  much  to  curb  the  violence  and  wrong  to  which 
the  ballot  and  the  count  have  been  again  and  again  subjected — 
sometimes  despoiling  great  cities,  sometimes  stifling  the  voice 
of  a  whole  State,  often  seating,  not  only  in  Congress,  but  on 
the  Bench  and  in  Legislatures,  numbers  of  men  never  chosen 
by  the  people.  The  Democratic  Party,  since  gain  ing  possession 
of  the  two  houses  of  Congress,  has  made  these  just  laws  the  ob- 
ject of  bitter,  ceaseless  assault,  and,  despite  all  resistance,  has 
hedged  them  with  restrictions  cunningly  contrived  to  baffle  and 
paralyze  them.  This  aggressive  majority  boldly  attempted  to 
extort  from  the  Executive  his  approval  of  various  enactments 
destructive  of  these  election  laws  by  revolutionary  threats  that 
a  constitutional  exercise  of  the  veto  power  would  be  punished 
by  withholding  the  appropriations  necessary  to  carry  on  the 
Government.  And  these  threats  were  actually  carried  out  by 
refusing  the  needed  appropriations,  and  by  forcing  an  extra  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  lasting  for  months  and  resulting  in  conces- 
sions to  this  usurping  demand  which  are  likely,  in  many  States, 
to  subject  the  majority  to  the  lawless  will  of  a  minority.  Omi- 


330         ARTHUR' '/>'  LETTER   OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

nous  signs  of  public  disapproval  alone  subdued  this  arrogant 
power  into  a  sullen  surrender  for  the  time  being  of  a  part  of  its 
demands.  The  Republican  Party  has  strongly  approved  the 
stern  refusal  of  its  representatives  to  suffer  the  overthrow  of 
statutes  believed  to  be  salutary  and  just.  It  has  always  insist- 
ed, and  now  insists,  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
of  America  is  empowered  and  in  duty  bound  to  effectually  pro- 
tect the  elections  denoted  by  the  Constitution  as  national. 

More  than  this,  the  Republican  Party  holds,  as  a  cardinal 
point  in  its  creed,  that  the  Government  should,  by  every  means 
known  to  the  Constitution,  protect  all  American  citizens  every- 
where in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  civil  and  political  rights. 
As  a  great  part  of  its  work  of  reconstruction,  the  Republican 
Party  gave  the  ballot  to  the  emancipated  slave  as  his  right  and 
defence.  A  large  increase  in  the  number  of  members  of  Con- 
gress and  of  the  Electoral  College,  from  the  former  slavehold- 
ing  States,  was  the  immediate  result.  The  history  of  recent 
years  abounds  in  evidence  that  in  many  ways  and  in  many 
places — especially  where  their  number  has  been  great  enough  to 
endanger  Democratic  control — the  very  men  by  whose  elevation 
to  citizenship  this  increase  of  representation  was  effected  have 
been  debarred  and  robbed  of  their  voice  and  their  vote.  It  is 
true  that  no  State  statute  or  Constitution  in  so  many  words  de- 
nies or  abridges  the  exercise  of  their  political  rights  ;  but  the 
modes  employed  to  bar  their  way  are  no  less  effectual.  It  is  a 
suggestive  and  startling  thought  that  the , increased  power  de- 
rived from  the  enfranchisement  of  a  race  now  denied  its  share 
in  governing  the  country — wielded  by  those  who  lately  sought 
the  overthrow  of  the  Government — is  now  the  sole  reliance  to 
defeat  the  party  which  represented  the  sovereignty  and  nation- 
ality of  the  Amerioan  people  in  the  greatest  crisis  of  our  history. 
Republicans  cherish  none  of  the  resentments  which  may  have 
animated  them  during  the  actual  conflict  of  arms.  They  long 
for  a  full  and  real  reconciliation  between  the  sections  which 


ARTHUR'S  LETTER   OF  ACCEPTANCE.         331 

were  needlessly  and  lamentably  at  strife  ;  they  sincerely  offer 
the  hand  of  good-will,  but  they  ask  in  return  a  pledge  of  good 
faith.  They  deeply  feel  that  the  party  whose  career  is  so  illus- 
trious in  great  and  patriotic  achievement  will  not  fulfil  its  des- 
tinyuntil  peace  and  prosperity  are  established  in  all  the  land, 
nor  until  liberty  of  thought,  conscience  and  action,  and 
equality  of  opportunity  shall  be  not  merely  cold  formalities  of 
statute,  but  living  birthrights,  which  the  humble  may  confi- 
dently claim  and  the  powerful  dare  not  deny. 

The  resolution  referring  to  the  public  service  seems  to  me  de- 
serving of  approval.  Surely,  no  man  should  be  the  encumbent 
of  an  office  the  duties  of  which  he  is,  for  any  cause,  unfit  to 
perform,  who  is  lacking  in  the  ability,  fidelity,  or  integrity 
which  a  proper  administration  of  such  office  demands.  This 
sentiment  would  doubtless  meet  with  general  acquiescence,  but 
opinion  has  been  widely  divided  upon  the  wisdom  and  practi- 
cability of  the  various  reformatory  schemes  which  have  been 
suggested,  and  of  certain  proposed  regulations  governing 
appointments  to  public  office.  The  efficiency  of  such  regula- 
tions has  been  distrusted,  mainly  because  they  have  seemed  to 
exalt  mere  educational  and  abstract  tests  above  general  business 
capacity,  and  even  special  fitness  for  the  particular  work  in 
hand.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  rules  which  should  be  applied 
to  the  management.of  the  public  service  may  properly  conform, 
in  the  main,  to  such  as  regulate  the  conduct  of  successful 
private  business.  Original  appointments  should  be  based  upon 
ascertained  fitness.  The  tenure  of  office  should  be  stable 
Positions  of  responsibility  should,  so  far  as  practicable,  be  fillet 
by  the  promotion  of  worthy  and  efficient  officers.  The  invest i 
gation  of  all  complaints,  and  the  punishment  of  all  official  mis- 
conduct, should  be  prompt  and  thorough.  These  views,  whid. 
I  have  long  held,  repeatedly  declared,  and  uniformly  Applied 
when  called  upon  to  act,  I  find  embodied  in  the  resolution, 
which,  of  course,  I  approve.  I  will  add  that  by  the  acceptance 


332         ARTHUR'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

of  public  office,  •whether  high  or  low,  one  does  not,  in  my  judg- 
ment, escape  any  of  his  responsibilities  as  a  citizen,  or  lose  or 
impair  any  of  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  and  that  he  should  enjoy 
absolute  liberty  to  think  and  speak  and  act  in  politica1  matters 
according  to  his  own  will  and  conscience,  provided  only  that  he 
honorably,  faithfully,  and  fully  discharges  all  his  official  duties. 

The  resumption  of  specie  payments — one  of  the  fruits  of 
Republican  policy — has  brought  the  return  of  abundant  pros- 
perity, and  the  settlement  of  many  distracting  questions.  The 
restoration  of  sound  money,  the  large  reduction  of  our  public 
debt  and  of  the  burden  of  interest,  the  high  advancement  of  the 
public  credit,  all  attest  the  ability  and  courage  of  the  Republi- 
can Party  to  deal  with  such  financial  problems  as  may  hereafter 
demand  solution.  Our  paper  currency  is  now  as  good  as  gold, 
and  silver  is  performing  its  legitimate  function  for  the  purpose 
of  change.  The  principle  which  should  govern  the  relations  of 
these  elements  of  the  currency  are  simple  and  clear.  There 
must  be  no  deteriorated  coin,  no  depreciated  paper.  And  every 
dollar,  whether  of  metal  or  paper,  should  stand  the  test  of  the 
world's  fixed  standard. 

The  value  of  popular  education  can  hardly  be  overstated. 
Although  its  interests  must  of  necessity  be  chiefly  confided  to 
voluntary  effort  and  the  individual  action  of  the  several  States, 
they  should  be  encouraged,  so  far  as  the  Constitution  permits, 
by  the  generous  co-op-ration  of  the  National  Government.  The 
interests  of  the  whole  country 'demand  that  the  advantages  of 
our  common  school  system  should  be  brought  within  the  reach 
of  every  cifeen,  and  that  no  revenues  of  the  nation  or  of  the 
States  should  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  sectarian  schools. 

Such  changes  should  be  made  in  the  present  tariff  and  system 
of  taxation  as  will  relieve  any  overburdened  industry  or  class, 
and  enable  our  manufacturers  and  artisans  to  compete  success- 
fully with  those  of  other  lands. 

The  Government  should  aid  works  of  internal  improvement 


ARTHUR'S  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE.         333 

national  in  their  character,  and  should  promote  the  develop- 
ment of  our  water-courses  and  harbors  wherever  the  general  in- 
terests of  commerce  require. 

Four  years  ago,  as  now,  the  nation  stood  at  the  threshold  of 
a  Presidential  election,  and  the  Republican  Party,  in  soliciting 
a  continuance  of  its  ascendency,  founded  its  hope  of  success, 
not  upon  its  promises,  but  upon  its  history.  Its  subsequent 
course  has  been  such  as  to  strengthen  the  claims  which  it  then 
made  to  the  confidence  and  support  of  the  country.  On  the 
other  hand,  considerations  more  urgent  than  have  ever  before 
existed  forbid  the  accession  of  its  opjxments  to  power.  Their 
success,  if  success  attends  them,  must  chiefly  come  from  the 
united  support  of  that  section  which  sought  the  forcible  disrup- 
tion of  the  Union,  and  which,  according  to  all  the  teachings  of 
our  past  history,  will  demand  ascendency  in  the  councils  of  the 
party  to  whose  triumph  it  will  have  made  by  far  the  largest 
contribution. 

There  is  the  gravest  reason  for  apprehension  that  exorbitant 
claims  upon  the  public  Treasury,  by  no  means  limited  to  the 
hundreds  of  millions  already  covered  by  bills  introduced  in 
Congress  within  the  past  four  years,  would  be  successfully 
urged  if  the  Democratic  Party  should  succeed  in  supplementing 
its  present  control  of  the  National  Legislature  by  electing  the 
Executive  also. 

There  is  danger  in  intrusting  the  control  of  the  whole  law- 
making  power  of  the  Government  to  a  party  which  has  in  almost 
every  Southern  State  repudiated  obligations  quite  as  sacred  as 
those  to  which  the  faith  of  the  nation  now  stands  pledged. 

I  do  not  doubt  that  success  awaits  the  Republican  Party,  and 
that  its  triumph  will  assure  a  just,  economical,  and  patriotic 
administration.  I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  A.  ARTHUR. 

"7b   the   Hon.  GEORGE   F.    HOAR,  President   of   the  Republican 
National  Convention. 


APPENDIX. 


ABANDONED 


SELECTED    FROM    THE 


National  Platforms  of  the  Democratic  Party 

SINCE  1856. 


APPENDIX.  33? 


FROM  THE   DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM   OF   1856  ;  RE- 
ADOPTED   IN   1860. 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS  UNCONSTITUTIONAL. 

THE  Constitution  does  not  confer  upon  the  General  Govern- 
ment the  power  to  commence  and  carry  on  a  general  system  of 
internal  improvements. 

SLAVERY  NOT  TO  BE  INTERFERED  WITS. 

That  all  efforts  of  the  Abolitionists  or  others,  made  to  induce 
Congress  to  interfere  with  questions  of  slavery,  or  to  take  in- 
cipient steps  in  relation  thereto,  are  calculated  to  lead  to  the 
most  alarming  and  dangerous  consequences,  and  that  a.'  such 
efforts  have  an  inevitable  tendency  to  diminish  the  happiness 
of  the  people  and  endanger  the  stability  and  permanence  of  the 
Union,  and  ought  not  to  be  countenanced  by  any  friend  of  our 
political  institutions. 

THE  FUGITIVE-SLAVE  LAW  NOT  TO  BE  REPEALED  OR  CHANGED. 

The  foregoing  proposition  covers  and  was  intended  to  em- 
brace the  whole  subject  of  slavery  agitation  in  Congress,  and 
therefore  the  Democratic  Party  of  the  Union,  standing  on  this 
national  platform,  will  abide  by  and  adhere  to  a  faithful  execution 
of  the  acts  known  as  the  Compspmise  Measures,  settled  by  the  Con- 
gress of  1850,  l<  the  act  for  reclaiming  fugitives  from  service  or 
labor  "  included,  which  act  being  designed  to  carry  out  an 
express  provision  of  the  Constitution,  cannot,  with  fidelity 
thereto,  be  repealed  or  so  changed  as  to  destroy  or  impair  its 
efficiency. 


888  APPENDIX. 

NOTHING    TO   BE    SAID    AGAINST    SLAVERY. 

The  Democratic  Party  will  resist  all  attempts  at  renewing,  in 
Congress  or  out  of  it,  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question,  un- 
der whatever  shape  or  color  the  attempt  may  be  made. 

EXTREME   STATE    BIGHTS   DOCTRINE   ENDORSED. 

The  Democratic  Party  will  faithfully  abide  by  and  uphold 
the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolu- 
tions of  1798  and  1799,  and  in  the  report  of  Mr.  Madison  to  the 
Virginia  Legislature  in  1799 — that  it  adopts  these  principles  as 
constituting  one  of  the  main  foundations  of  its  political  creed 
and  is  resolved  to  carry  them  out  in  their  obvious  meaning  and 
import.  [NOTE. — The  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions 
affirmed  the  right  of  each  State  to  judge  for  itself  of  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  acts  of  the  General  Government,  and  to  re- 
fuse to  submit  if  it  deems  those  acts  unconstitutional.  These 
resolutions  formed  the  basis  of  the  doctrine  of  secession.] 

SLAVERY  IN  THE  TERRITORIES   AND   THE  DISTRICT  OP   COLUMBIA. 

The  American  Democracy  recognize  and  adopt  the  principles 
contained  in  the  organic  laws  establishing  the  Territories  of 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  as  embodying  the  only  sound  and  safe 
solution  of  the  slavery  question  upon  which  the  great  national 
idea  of  the  people  of  this  whole  country  can  repose  in  its  deter- 
mined conservation  of  the  Union  ;  and  non-interference  of  Con- 
gress with  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 


FROM  BOTH  DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORMS  OF  1860. 

LAWS   AGAINST   KIDNAPPING   DENOUNCED. 

THE  enactments  of  State  Legislatures  to  defeat  the  faithful 
execution  of  the  fugitive-slave    law   are  hostile  in    character. 


APPENDIX.  389 

subversive  of  the  Constitution,  and  revolutionary  in  their  effect. 
[NOTE. — This  refers  to  laws  passed  by  several  Northern  States 
to  protect  persons  from  being  captured  on  their  soil  by  slave- 
hunters,  and  carried  to  the  South  without  a  trial  by  jury  to  de- 
termine whether  they  were  slaves  or  not.] 

PROTECTION   TO   CITIZENS. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  afford  ample  and  com- 
plete protection  to  all  its  citizens,  whether  at  home  or  abroad, 
and  whether  native  or  foreign.  [NOTE. — The  Democracy  never 
applied  this  principle  to  colored  people  or  to  white  people  who 
opposed  human  slavery.  Of  late  years  it  has  abandoned  it  alto- 
gether, and  has  vehemently  resisted  the  enactment  and  enforce- 
ment of  laws  to  protect  the  civil  rights  of  citizens.] 


FROM  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM  OF  1864. 

THE   WAR   A   FAILURE. 

THIS  convention  does  explicitly  declare,  as  the  sense  of  the 
American  people,  that  after  four  years  of  failure  to  restore  the 
Union  by  the  experiment  of  war,  during  which,  under  the  pre- 
text of  a  military  necessity  of  a  war  power  higher  than  the 
Constitution,  the  Constitution  itself  has  been  disregarded  in 
every  part,  and  public  and  private  liberty  alike  trodden  down, 
and  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country  essentially  impaired, 
justice,  humanity,  liberty  and  the  public  welfare  demand  that 
immediate  efforts  be  made  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a 
view  to  an  ultimate  convention  of  all  the  States  or  other  peace- 
able means,  to  the  end  that  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment 
peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the  Federal  Union  of  the 
States. 


340  APPENDIX. 


FROM  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PLATFORM  OF   1868. 


TAXATION    OF   GOVERNMENT  BONDS,   IN    VIOLATION    OP    THE   CON- 
TRACT. 

EQUAL  taxation  of  every  species  of  property  including  Govern- 
ment bonds  and  other  public  securities. 


PAYMENT  OF  THE  BONDS  IN  GREENBACKS. 

Where  the  obligations  of  the  Government  do  not  expressly 
state  upon  their  face,  or  the  law  under  which  they  were  issued 
does  not  provide,  that  they  shall  be  paid  in  coin,  they  ought  in 
right  and  justice  to  be  paid  in  the  lawful  money  of  the  United 

States. 

A   DISMAL  PROPHECY. 

Under  its  [the  Republican  Party's]  repeated  assaults  the 
pillars  of  the  Government  are  rocking  on  their  base,  and  should 
it  succeed  in  November  next  and  inaugurate  its  President,  we 
will  meet  as  a  subjected  and  conquered  people  amid  the  ruins 
of  liberty  and  the  scattered  fragments  of  the  Constitution. 


THE     RECONSTRUCTION     ACTS     DENOUNCED     AS     REVOLUTIONARY 
AND    VOID. 

We  regard  the  reconstruction  acts  (so-called)  of  Congress,  as 
such,  as  usurpations  and  as  unconstitutional,  revolutionary,  and 
void.  . 

THB   REPUBLICAN  PARTY  FALSELY   ACCUSED. 

In  demanding  these  measures  and  reforms,  we  arraign  the 
Radical  Party  for  its  disregard  of  right  and  the  unparalleled 
oppression  and  tyranny  which  have  marked  its  career. 


APPENDIX.  341 


FROM   THE  PLATFORM   OF   1876. 

THE  RESUMPTION  LAW    DENOUNCED. 

WE  denounce  the  resumption  clause  of  the  Act  of  1875,  and 
demand  its  repeal. 

THE    PROTECTIVE    TAKIFP   CONDEMNED. 

We  denounce  the  present  tariff  levied  upon  nearly  4,000  arti- 
cles, as  a  masterpiece  of  injustice,  inequality  and  fraud. 
[NOTE. — This  is  probably  the  only  one  of  the  doctrines  here 
quoted  which  the  Democratic  Party  avows  to-day.  Its  present 
platform  demands  a  tariff  for  revenue  only.] 


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